Date: 7/5/26 2:01 pm From: Kevin Krajcir <kjkrajcir...> Subject: July ASCA Meeting - Black Skimmer Movements by Jacob Wessels
Good afternoon!
Join the Audubon Society of Central Arkansas on Thursday July 9th at 7 PM to hear Jacob Wessels talk about his research into the movements of Black Skimmers breeding in coastal Mississippi. Jacob is currently a PhD student at Mississippi State University.
Black Skimmers (Rynchops niger) are a widespread coastal seabird species of conservation concern. Their movements have been understudied because of the challenges of tracking birds. Jacob will present preliminary results from a collaborative study of Black Skimmers in Mississippi that aims to increase our knowledge of their ecology and inform habitat restoration efforts. Tracking Black Skimmers with GPS transmitters has provided insight into their movements during the breeding season, as well as variation in migratory strategies, routes, and destinations during the nonbreeding season, as the skimmers spread out around much of the Gulf and beyond.
Jacob Wessels started birding as an undergraduate student at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He went on to work with species including Golden-winged and Blue-winged Warblers, Loggerhead Shrikes, Northern Bobwhites, grassland and forest songbirds, and secretive marsh birds. He earned a master’s in Biology at Arkansas State University, where he studied Cerulean Warblers along the Buffalo National River. Jacob is currently a PhD student at Mississippi State University. He also serves as Newsletter Editor for the Mississippi Ornithological Society.
