Watching and shooting the Black Skimmers fishing here required a few openings in the wall of tall plants. You just don’t push through and over the edge here. The dikes can be high, the critters/bugs less than friendly.

One spot we used was a worn down Alligator trail. They constantly climb up and over these dikes wearing down the brush.

The series below shows the issues with using a trail like this. More for the Skimmers than us though.

Skimmers came straight down the side of one marsh, then turned left into another. These birds are fast and agile, an Alligator in the middle just meant a slight detour up, or around while still fishing.

Skimmers took this flight path multiple times. The only reaction from the Alligator was a one time tail splash.

Black Skimmers, ACE Basin, South Carolina.