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Nature's Solace
Celebrating Nature in the Pacific Northwest
Black Oystercatcher - Haematopus bachmani
Follow a narrow stretch of Pacific Ocean coastline from Baja to Alaska – this oceanfront “property” is where the Black Oystercatcher calls home. They are impossible to miss and impossible to misidentify. No other bird resembles this crow sized shorebird with its pink legs
and feet, bright long reddish orange bill (2.5 -3.5”)and orange eyes rimmed by red.
Oystercatcher?? Oysters have seldom been seen to be caught. It is far from this bird’s favored food. A better name would be the black mussel catcher, their truly preferred meal.
You will see them foraging in the intertidal ecosystem during the change of tides, incoming or outgoing. This is when mollusks open their valves to feed. This is also when the black oystercatcher can take advantage to pry open the valves, cutting the muscle to pull out the tasty meat inside. Or popping limpets and chitons off of the rocks, separating the fleshy foot from the shell.
Their varied diet includes clams, crabs, barnacles, sea urchins, isopods, jellyfish, to name a few.
They stay together year round, sharing housekeeping and parental duties of incubating, feeding chicks and nurturing the fledglings for a couple more months until the young have learned the art of feeding on these rocky shores.
Nest making seems a casual affair – tossing pebbles, shell fragments and rock bits around until something resembling a bowl appears - c. 8" across and 1"deep. Nests are set above the high tide line. If the first clutch of 3-4 eggs doesn’t succeed – due to predation or human disturbance or flooding - one or two more clutches will be laid. Hopefully, one will succeed.
Young are born downy and active and can leave the nest as soon as the down dries.
I often see black oystercatchers and black turnstones foraging side by side.
Migration? Unlike many shorebird species, black oystercatchers are largely homebodies. South of Alaska, most black oystercatchers are permanent residents, merely moving from exposed nesting sites to more sheltered, nearby rocky shorelines or mudflats during winter. Northern populations follow a short migratory path after mating season, flying to B.C. for the winter.
The presence of black oystercatchers means there is an abundance of marine life flourishing within the rocky terrain, making them a valuable indicator of the health of intertidal ecosystems.
The global population is around 10,000, 80% of them living between Alaska and British Columbia.
On this day I saw at least a couple dozen black oystercatchers. They were being very active and vocal, flying off in flocks and returning. Their voice, as described by eBird "listen for loud yelps and whistles, often in a rapid series when excited". During mating and nesting season, they will be very territorial. But they can also enjoy interacting socially.
To listen to their calls - click here
Resources:
All About Birds
eBird
Audubon
Seadoc Society
Seattle Aquarium
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