American Oystercatchers
The American Oystercatcher is a beautiful black, brown, and white contrasting bird with pale pink legs and a bright reddish-orange beak and eyes. I’ve seen this bird numerous times and either did not have my camera or I missed the shot…..up until our recent visit to Ocean City, Maryland.
Not one, but on two days I lucked out on sighting and capturing them around the Isle of Wight Bay. And now I can finally add this bird to my lifer list! 🙂
The first day early morning there was a lone adult foraging the low tide and flats.
I could not identify whether this was a male or female as they look identical.
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True to its name, the American Oystercatcher feeds on bivalves (oysters, clams, and mussels) in addition to sea urchins, starfish, crabs, and worms. They do love a good sand or mudflat.
The second day I heard a loud ruckus, turned and sighted three in flight. It was windy that day; and I struggled holding my camera still to focus on them, getting these two ‘best’ shots, albeit not so great with my cropping….but I’ll take them!
As one turned and headed a different direction, the other two continued on their flight.
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There are two races of American Oystercatchers that breed in North America – the eastern race along the Atlantic coast, and the western race along the Pacific coast from northwestern Baja California southward. Another species is the Black Oystercatcher which lives along the Pacific coast north of Baja California. Someday I’ll have to get me a shot of that one.
I love that bold color beak!
Photos by Donna 
I love these guys! So hard to catch a photo in flight! Amazing, Donna.
BTW, if you see one with a partially dark beak, that means it’s not fully mature, less than two years old.
Thanks Martha! You’re right, while in flight, they really do fly fast and dart. The wind certainly didn’t help either! lol
I agree that these are beautiful birds! Your photos are very good, including in flight. I was surprised how fast they fly when I saw two of them the other night.
Thanks Helen! I wish it hadn’t been so windy, boy did I have a lot of blurry images, lol.
Beautiful shots, Donna – especially the ones in flight. I’ve photographed oystercatchers in other countries, including the Galapagos Islands and Iceland, but never in the US. Congrats!
Thanks Susan! Boy, I am jealous on your Galapagos Islands and Iceland photo ops, what amazing countries to visit and bird!
Beautiful in flight shots Donna! One day I hope to get a look and image of your Eastern Oystercatcher. 🙂
Thanks Deborah! And I your Pacific Black Oystercatcher! 🙂
For all the birds you’re ‘catching’ that I’ve never seen, or even heard of, I’ve finally come up with one you haven’t caught yet – the black oystercatcher! They’re not exactly common around here, but neither are they rare. I have some shots of them, but it was back in the day before I knew much about shooting birds. They don’t begin to match your skill in shooting these moving targets. 😀 Those red beaks are pretty spectacular.
Yea, Gunta! 😀 I hope to some day get over your way AND get the chance with a Black Oystercatcher. Thanks!!
I love these birds, they look so different and stand out from the crowd. We have the pied oystercatcher here in Australia and it looks almost identical to the ones in your photos so they must be closely related. Love the photos of the birds in flight.
Thanks Sue! I saw how similar ours are to your Pied Oystercatcher, when Ashley (aussiebirder) posted yours on his blog. We both have so many different ones and then there’s those that are so close. Amazing!
Nice catch–love that orange beak! Their squawking can be an alert they are flying in but they sure do fly fast.
Thanks Ellen! Wow, I was quick to turn when I heard their squawking, I had never heard them before. Flying fast, mouths open and shutting, their darting, it was a challenging flight photo op for sure!
These guys are so cool looking! Glad you were able to have a photo opp. 🙂
Thanks Kathy, it was a great fun!
le ostricarie le ho viste e fotografate alle isole Faroer, hanno colori bellissimi ed un volo elegante, mentre sembrano impacciate nella ricerca del cibo, spledido reportage
un sorriso
Annalisa
Grazie Annalisa, i loro colori contrastanti sono davvero bella in volo. 🙂
Your oyster catchers look a little browner than ours but otherwise they are very similar. I love the beady red eyes.
I noticed they looked similar when you’ve posted your images, and yep love those beady red eyes….and beak!
Wow. You have them already! Beautiful shots, especially of them flying.
Thanks, Hien! I thought it was early seeing them myself, but I researched and found they will stay over winter as far north as Delaware. I was surprised!
Thanks, Donna, fabulous, as usual! On Tue, 21 Mar 2017 01:25:06 +0000
Thanks so much!
Oh my gosh! Wonderful! I wish we had them around here! I’ve never seen one! Beautiful shots, Donna!
Thanks Sheila!
Lovely flight shots Donna. Your American Oystercatcher looks almost identical to our Pied Oystercatcher, having all the same features. We have two kinds Pied and Sooty with South Island being a race of the Pied.
Thanks Ashley! I noticed we have at least a couple birds that look similar! Yay! 🙂
Congrats on your new Lifer. They sure know how to keep us hooked on birding. My kids call them ‘Bird Clowns.’
Thanks Shannon! Always great to get a new lifer! 🙂 Your kids have a cute name, lol.
I enjoyed the American Oystercatchers here, Donna. They are a delightful bird to watch. There have been so many times when I was looking out over rocks or cliffs and did not see them, but then their rowdy calls erupted and I was rewarded. Great bird, great post.
Thanks Jet! I never knew what they sounded like until I heard their squawking chatter in flight that day. That sound will definitely turn your head to their direction. 🙂
They are so gorgeous, especially in flight. When we lived in Alaska, we used to see Black Oystercatchers, and I enjoyed watching them a lot. I will have to bird the East Coast at some point.
Thanks Tanja! They are gorgeous in flight. How awesome to live in Alaska prior! 🙂
Thanks for posting these photos! I live in Great Lakes region, but I hope to see this bird someday if I visit the either coast. Regardless, I’m glad I stumbled upon this page, the beautiful pictures here will definitely help me learn to identify birds.
Thanks so much for stopping by! These are beautiful birds. I enjoy photographing the challenge of birds and have learned so much myself with identifying them. I am sure you have some beautiful birds around the Great Lakes! 🙂