In June, we’re featuring beach birds! We need YOU to help protect beach birds and their babies. Together, we can defend an important ecosystem that impacts many other animals, sea life and plants. Learn more about our month long celebration of beach birds and how YOU can help on our website!
This week we’re profiling the American Oystercatcher. This large shorebird - 15.7–17.3” in length - can only be found on the coast.
How can I spot an American Oystercatcher?
Unlike many shorebird species, the American Oystercatcher is a flashy bird. It has a distinctive long, bright red bill long, flesh-colored legs, white belly, black head, and dark brown back. Hear their call here.
Where can I find American Oystercatchers in North Carolina?
In the spring and summer, they nest on the sandy dunes on the beach, and on estuarine islands. In the winter, they usually retreat to tidal marshes. Islands are a favorite nesting spot because they have few or no predators, and they offer the right kinds of habitats for oystercatchers and other shorebirds.
In North Carolina, the best places to spot an oystercatcher during the summer are barrier islands and small marsh islands. For example, a boat ride around Rachel Carson Reserve near Swansboro, or a car ride to Masonboro and Mason Inlets will turn up several breeding pairs.
While some American Oystercatchers live in the same general area year-round, others are more adventurous and migrate as far as Massachusetts to Florida to breed and winter. North Carolina oystercatchers are a mix—some never leave; some migrate here to spend the winter, and some breed here and head south when fall arrives. Much more needs to be understood about the American Oystercatcher and its habitat use in order to understand its conservation needs. Audubon North Carolina biologists are involved in a long-term research study to help better understand how to protect these birds.
What do they eat?
Yes! American Oystercatchers do actually prey on oysters and other mollusks! However, they are not limited to only oysters. Clams, mussels, and other bivalves are also on their menu. They insert their long, skinny bills into barely opened shellfish and then turn them sideways, prying the two halves apart.
Oystercatchers forage wherever shellfish are to be found, on oyster beds, partly submerged rocks, marshes, and sometimes even beaches. They tend for feed at low tide, when shellfish beds are exposed. Sometimes in the process of prying a shell open, it gets wedged onto the oystercatcher’s bill. However, the birds can easily pry it back off.
How do they raise their young?
The parents make nests right on the beach! That is why it is so important to stay away from areas marked for nesting birds with posts and strings at the beach, watch your step, limit beach driving, and keep dogs on leashes when you are around beach birds.
Parent oystercatchers use their feet to make a shallow depression in the sand to form a nest, called a scrape. They usually make five or more of these, then choose the best one and line it with shells, pebbles, or bits of seaweed from the outgoing tide.
The mother will lay 2–3 buffy gray eggs with dark brown speckles. She’ll sit on her nest for 24–28 days, typically in April through August in North Carolina. If a pair loses their nest, they will try again, up to three times.
Unlike the young of most shorebirds, their chicks cannot feed themselves right away, but rely on their parents for food for up to eight weeks.
Sources:
