Black Oystercatcher

Description

Black Oystercatchers are one of the larger shorebirds and very distinctive. They’re an overall black, sometimes showing dark brown in sunlight, with pale legs. Their most noticeable features are the neon eye and bill. Their bill is a bright red-orange, and their eyes are bright yellow with a red eye ring.

Habitat and Status

These oystercatchers are common around the shores of the Chugach Region. They can be found nesting just above where the high tide comes into, such as rock and sand beaches that meet treeless grasses. In the winter they tend to flock together in large numbers in similar locations to their nesting sites. Their year-round dependence on this narrow band of habitat makes these birds particularly vulnerable to both natural and human disturbance. Predation by mink, river otters, bears, gulls, ravens, and eagles take a toll on oystercatchers, particularly on the eggs (typically 2─3) and newly hatched chicks. Because their nests typically crowd the high-tide margin, they are susceptible to flooding by extreme high tides, storm surges, and large boat wakes. As recreating humans tend to prefer the same gravel beaches vital to breeding oystercatchers, campers and kayakers may inadvertently disturb nesting birds or even trample their highly camouflaged nests.

Fewer than 11,000 black oystercatchers remain worldwide, their range extending from the Aleutian Islands to Baja California, Mexico. Over half nest in Alaska, particularly concentrated along the shorelines of Harriman Fjord, Montague Island and Green Island in Prince William Sound where at least 500 pairs are known to nest. This is a species of high concern in the Alaskan, U.S., and Canadian shorebird conservation plans because of its small population size, restricted range, and threats to habitat from human and natural factors that make its long-term viability uncertain. Audubon modeling also suggests their wintering range is likely to shift as far north as Nome, with some concomitant loss in the Chugach Region.

Black Oystercatcher distribution in the Chugach Region.

Traditional Use

Black Oystercatchers nest in a restricted area between the high-tide line and coastal vegetation, or on islets just above high tide. They also remain paired year-round and so are one of the earliest breeders in the spring. According to an Alutiiq legend, God punished the oystercatcher for laying its eggs too early one year. The birds were not supposed to reproduce until May, but they did not wait. Now, they must lay their eggs right on the beach as they have been banished from the land (Alutiiq Museum).