St. Croix's American Oystercatcher's

There are people, two Oystercatcher's and a Little Blue Heron in this pic. Unfortunately most of the people on the beach have no idea the birds are even there.

St. Croix does have a few pairs of American Oystercatcher’s that can be found feeding along the coast. Their habitat is both sand and shell beaches but i have mostly found them along the coast where rocky outcrops occur. 

Most observations i’ve had on St. Croix are usually pairs wading and foraging along the tide line or flying by making loud whistling calls or a sharp wheep.

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Oystercatcher/sounds

American Oystercatcher’s are listed on the 2014 State of the Birds Watch List http://www.stateofthebirds.org/extinctions/watchlist.pdf

for the North American Population. This watch list is compiled by a team of scientists from the North American Bird Conservation Initiative. Basically what the list does is to alert all of us to the very real danger of extinction for these birds if we continue to impact their habitats. Without conservation many of the 233 birds on the list may face a grim future.

Oystercatcher’s are shy birds.

They are sensitive to human disturbance.

They use their long orange bills to probe for shellfish

which is their main food.

They use their bills to pry open mollusks or to 

pound them on rocks to break them open.

Birds that are thinking about mating tend to walk together.

They nest on beaches.

A few of the most common places to find them on St. Croix are west of Rainbow Beach around the Monks Baths.

At Cane Bay either flying past or feeding anywhere along the coast from Off the Wall to Rust-op Twist. Some residents of this area hear them regularly every morning.

Around Pull Point

On the point by Duggan’s Reef restaurant.

On the south shore by the old Molasses Dock.

and at Sandy Point when the sand has been washed off.

Most of these pics were taken at Sandy Point last weekend.

Oystercatcher’s are so beautiful i can never seem to get enough of them.

i’m always amazed by their beauty. 

Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone here took a little time to observe them.

They really are cool birds.

See ya next week

PS: Every week the font size changes throughout the piece even though when typed it is all the same...Blogger really needs to get it together...it is not me doing this.