An American Oystercatcher Times Two

With their bright orange/red bills and matching eyes, along with their dull pink legs, I easily caught sight of two American Oystercatchers foraging around the Murrell’s Inlet salt marsh for a snack.

American Oystercatchers feed almost exclusively on shellfish and other marine invertebrates including mussels and clams of many varieties, limpets, oysters, sea urchins, starfish, crabs, and worms.

The pair finally got close enough to each other for me to get both in one frame. Yay!

Tags: American Oystercatcher, coast, foraging, image, nature, photo, photograph, photographs, photography, photos, reflection, wildlife

39 thoughts on “An American Oystercatcher Times Two”

Ellen Jennings on 02/08/2018 at 9:15 AM said:

Nice images, Donna. These are fun birds to watch with those vivid beaks.

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- bayphotosbydonna on 02/09/2018 at 6:29 PM said:
  
  Thanks Ellen, those bright beaks are pretty neat. 🙂
  
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Sharon Mann on 02/08/2018 at 9:23 AM said:

What a gorgeous bird and the beak is magnificent! I must draw the Oystercatcher soon.

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- bayphotosbydonna on 02/09/2018 at 6:31 PM said:
  
  Thanks Sharon, they don’t stay still very long, so they were a fun challenge. Yes, a drawing sounds great!
  
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Steve Talabac on 02/08/2018 at 9:34 AM said:

Nice captures of these colorful birds Donna! I’ve yet to see them in the wild and hope to be able to photograph them one of these days.

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- bayphotosbydonna on 02/09/2018 at 6:36 PM said:
  
  Thanks Steve! I was excited to see them, this opportunity became my best photos to date of the AO. 🙂 Hope you see them one day!
  
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circadianreflections on 02/08/2018 at 10:15 AM said:

A delightful sighting! They’re so striking. Your images are lovely!

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- bayphotosbydonna on 02/09/2018 at 6:36 PM said:
  
  Thanks Deborah!
  
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Sketching on Whidbey Island on 02/08/2018 at 10:28 AM said:

We have oystercatchers in our area but I’ve seen not one. I’d jump up and down at that moment

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- bayphotosbydonna on 02/09/2018 at 6:39 PM said:
  
  Thanks so much, I did get a bit excited (actually real excited lol) when I saw them. I’ve seen/photographed them before but this opportunity became my best of them to date, they were closer to me and the late afternoon sun was perfect for lighting. 🙂 Good time!
  
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  - Sketching on Whidbey Island on 02/09/2018 at 6:54 PM said:
    
    How fortunate! I’m sure they are in our area so I need to be more observant
montucky on 02/08/2018 at 10:34 AM said:

Those are very photogenic birds! Striking!

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- bayphotosbydonna on 02/09/2018 at 6:39 PM said:
  
  Thanks Terry, they certainly are! 🙂
  
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Lisa Rest on 02/08/2018 at 10:34 AM said:

Yay indeed! I love oystercatchers, they seem to be calm and unhurried, at least the ones I’ve seen. I guess when you have a bill that showy there isn’t much point in trying to hide it. Great shots! 🙂

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- bayphotosbydonna on 02/09/2018 at 6:43 PM said:
  
  Thanks Lisa! You know, this pair was on the constant move and didn’t provide for much chance for still shots. I threw so many away, lol. Maybe my pair were really hungry, they were foraging away, or maybe they were nervous being in the channel. I checked ebird and found they were being recently seen by others. So they are possibly new to the area last week or so. It was cool sighting for me, and my best shots to date of these beauties! So I did do a little happy dance. 🙂
  
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Cornell on 02/08/2018 at 11:25 AM said:

Beautiful birds.

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- bayphotosbydonna on 02/09/2018 at 6:43 PM said:
  
  Thanks Cornell, real fun to watch too!
  
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avian101 on 02/08/2018 at 11:42 AM said:

Good captures Donna! I like those birds too. 🙂

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- bayphotosbydonna on 02/09/2018 at 6:45 PM said:
  
  Thanks HJ! 🙂
  
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Jet Eliot on 02/08/2018 at 1:24 PM said:

Always a joy to see the oystercatchers. Your photos are crisp and beautiful, Donna — great-looking day, and great species.

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- bayphotosbydonna on 02/09/2018 at 6:52 PM said:
  
  Thanks Jet, it was definitely an enjoyable time watching them!
  
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Sue on 02/08/2018 at 4:36 PM said:

Lovely photos Donna. These birds are quite eye catching, you can’t miss them. These American Oystercatchers look almost identical to our Pied Oystercatchers which we often see on the beaches. I love watching them wander along searching for food.

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- bayphotosbydonna on 02/09/2018 at 6:55 PM said:
  
  Thanks Sue. They were easy to spot with those bold beaks and continuous movement as they foraged along. How neat to have some birds we almost ‘share’ from oceans apart?!! 🙂
  
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tootlepedal on 02/08/2018 at 6:14 PM said:

They are very like our oyster catchers. It will be a real sign of spring when we see them here again.

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- bayphotosbydonna on 02/09/2018 at 7:03 PM said:
  
  Then let’s hope you see them real soon. 🙂
  
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Tom's Nature-up-close Photography and Mindfulness Blog on 02/08/2018 at 8:29 PM said:

Great shots, Donna! Those bills sure are brightly colored! 🙂

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- bayphotosbydonna on 02/09/2018 at 7:04 PM said:
  
  Thanks Tom! Almost funny/comical to watch them as they move along, yet still quite flashy! 🙂
  
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Susan Hale on 02/08/2018 at 9:33 PM said:

I have seen and photographed oystercatchers before, but your photos really show the large size of the bills in a way I hadn’t really captured or noticed before. Thanks for sharing these beautiful photos!

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- bayphotosbydonna on 02/09/2018 at 7:08 PM said:
  
  Thanks Susan, they were a real treat, giving me my best shots of the AOs to date. 🙂 I want to return to see if they are still there once this cloudy weather improves. They’ve been hanging around there for little over a week now, sometimes along another channel so the distance is hard to work with. So glad they came a lot closer for a little foraging…and I was there! 🙂
  
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aussiebirder on 02/09/2018 at 3:40 AM said:

Great pics Donna, your oystercatcher is easily identified as they have their classic red beak. Your American looks very similar to our Pied Oystercatcher. Ours are becoming endangered as they lay their eggs on beaches where many people walk.

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- bayphotosbydonna on 02/09/2018 at 7:11 PM said:
  
  Thanks Ashley, so neat to have such a similar bird with our distance; but very sorry to hear they are becoming endangered. They need their own beaches….
  
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Gunta on 02/10/2018 at 1:28 AM said:

Lovely photos of the oystercatchers. One of Eric’s (many) favorite birds! 😀 We get to see them here on the coast, most often at low or minus tides. Those red eyes and bills are so very helpful in identifying them!

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- bayphotosbydonna on 02/10/2018 at 7:15 PM said:
  
  Thanks Gunta, they are pretty distinctive and lots of fun to watch too! 🙂
  
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Tiny on 02/13/2018 at 2:30 PM said:

Good catches! They are so colorful! I have not yet seen them here on the bay this winter/spring.

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- bayphotosbydonna on 02/13/2018 at 10:29 PM said:
  
  Thanks Helen! They are fun to watch, I hope you get a chance! 🙂
  
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spugwash on 02/14/2018 at 9:34 AM said:

Very similar to ours over here. Nice shots and blog

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- bayphotosbydonna on 02/25/2018 at 9:25 AM said:
  
  Thanks so much!
  
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neihtn2012 on 02/26/2018 at 7:40 AM said:

Maybe these two Oystercatchers will come up to the Midlantic shore later this year!

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- bayphotosbydonna on 02/26/2018 at 7:48 AM said:
  
  I’ll pass on the hint to them! 🙂
  
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