Sighting a welcome change
THE sooty oystercatcher is an uncommon resident of local coastal areas, where its favourite haunts are rocky shorelines.
Despite the sombre black of the plumage, they are beautiful birds with a vivid scarlet beak and eye-ring and pink legs.
The black colouring blends wonderfully with wavesplashed rock-platforms that are an integral part of the Otway coast.
Occasionally they will come into the bay where they may be seen in company of their black-and-white cousins.
Pied oystercatchers are birds of sheltered bays and sandy beaches such as we have around the quieter areas of Corio Bay. So a sighting of both species at Limeburners Lagoon recently is interesting.
Some years ago, a mixed pair apparently nested on Mud Islands in Port Phillip.
I don’t know if they successfully raised any young, but it is possible since the two species are closely related.
Pied oystercatchers regularly breed here, with many records of nests at both Moolap and Avalon Saltworks, and adjacent areas.
The birds gained their name from their feeding behaviour. They have powerful beaks and can prise shellfish from the rocky ledges and crack or force them open. They also probe into the sand for invertebrates, and turn over seaweed on the shore where sand-hoppers and other creatures live.
When they nest, they select a sheltered site above the shoreline, and simply shape a shallow depression in which the eggs are laid.
Wildlife information and questions can be sent to ppescott@gmail.com