This site is a Black Skimmer nesting area located along the shoulder of the John F. Kennedy Causeway near its crossing over the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. The Nueces County Parks Department erected a fenced enclosure at this site around the most heavily used skimmer colony area in 1991. Since that time several problems have arisen. The enclosure is constructed of posts and heavy wire and several skimmer casualties had resulted from birds flying too low over the fence and hitting the thick wire. The area is also mostly below the mean high tide line, and a large proportion of the nests washed out during years with heavy summer rains. Finally, whereas the fence succeeded in protecting the chicks and nests from vehicular impacts, the lack of traffic had resulted in blooms of glasswort (Salicornia bigelovii) and accumulations of shoalgrass (mostly Halodule wrightii) along the shoreline, causing many skimmers to abandon the fenced area and nest in the more vulnerable areas outside. The last few years this site has attracted only a handful of skimmers.

In the spring of 1998, Lee and Nancy Elliott, David Potter, Paula Sales, and Phil Schlageter) helped Audubon improve the site. Together they removed the top strand of wire that was endangering birds flying low over the fence. They also removed a large swash of glasswort and seagrass along the shoreline in the central part of the enclosure. Finally, they created or enhanced 5 nesting mounds to provide elevated nesting sites.

Although there had been very little use of this site before these efforts, the 1998 skimmer colony benefitted from the efforts. Audubon biologists checked the site on several occasions in 1998. We recorded over 150 skimmers and about 10 pairs of Least Terns nesting at the site, up from only 5-15 pairs of skimmers in recent years. Nearly all of the birds nested in the central area, where Waterbird Watch volunteers removed vegetation and built nesting mounds.

Photo of Black Skimmers incubating a nest

Only 3 pairs of skimmers set up outside of the enclosure (~ 1 km west). At least 2 of these pairs laid eggs. The first nest was depredated. By the look of the eggs, gulls were the likely culprits. The second nest failed due to unknown causes.

In 1999, Audubon will work with TDOT, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to create better habitat for this colony at an offshore island, such as Zigzag Island, which occurs only several hundred meters south of the existing JFK Causeway site.

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