American Oystercatcher

Haematopus palliatus

The American oystercatcher, occasionally called the American pied oystercatcher, is a member of family Haematopodidae. Originally called the "sea pie", it was renamed in 1731 when naturalist Mark Catesby claimed that he had observed the bird eating oysters. The current population of American oystercatchers is estimated to be 50,000 – 99,999 mature individuals. There are estimated to be 1,500 breeding pairs along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the US. The bird is marked by its black and white body and a long, thick orange beak. Source

Where it is now

In the last 8 weeks this bird was recorded 47 times across 4 areas (each area is a 5 degree square).

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Movement and weather

Over the weeks it was present in the past year, its centre in North America ranged from 34°N in June to 43°N in July, about 1,000 km apart.

Arrival dates

The week it was first heard regularly in each region, after at least six weeks away. Dates differ from south to north, so a region has a range.

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Figures are effort corrected and come from automatic sound identification, which makes mistakes. How this is measured and how it compares with human observers.