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Where do skimmers build their nests?

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Illustration of a crab plover (Dromas ardeola), showing a slender wading bird with long legs, a long pointed black bill, white head and underparts, and contrasting black wings and back. — Charadriiform Crab plover (Dromas ardeola)

Skimmers build their nests as mere hollows in the sand, typically located on sandbars in rivers and estuaries within tropical and subtropical regions. They nest in small, loose colonies that can range from about 100 to several thousand pairs.12