These species include the little blue heron, tricolored heron, reddish egret, roseate spoonbill,
American oystercatcher, black skimmer, least tern and snowy plover (state threatened species) and the piping plover, red knot, roseate tern, and wood stork (federally-listed under the Endangered Species Act).
Recent wet weather has not deterred beachnesting birds from beginning their nesting season at Cape Henlopen State Park with this years first piping plover nest found late last week on the Point, along with an
American oystercatcher nest also discovered there.
Abstract: The
American oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus palliatus) is currently listed as a species of high concern by the United States Shorebird Conservation Plan.
Only time will reveal the spill's impact on many Gulf-breeding species, including the Brown Pelican,
American Oystercatcher, Wilson's Plover, Reddish Egret, Least Tern, Black Skimmer, Roseate Spoonbill, Clapper Rail, Seaside Sparrow, and Mottled Duck.
From the Puerto Viejo samples, 2 different influenza virus A subtypes were recovered: H3N8 in ducks and H10N9 in 2 ruddy turnstones and an
American oystercatcher.
Other birds that value this wildlife paradise are the Clapper Rail, the Common Loon, the
American Oystercatcher, the Seaside Sparrow, the brown and white pelicans, Peregrine Falcons, and the beautiful Cedar Waxwings.
The birds present during the study period were the Two Banded Plover Charadrius falklandicus (Latham), the American Golden Plover Pluvialis dominica (Muller), the Red Knot Calidris canutus (Linnaeus), the Lesser Yellowlegs Tringa flavipes (Gmelin), the
American Oystercatcher Haematopus palliatus Temminck, and the Kelp Gull Larus dominicanus (Lichtenstein).
The 2002 beach nesting bird season at the Two Mile Beach Unit was a success with nesting by two piping plover pairs, a peak of 97 least tern pairs, and two
American oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus) pairs.
An
American oystercatcher makes a shallow hole called a scrape for its nest (above right).
The
American oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus palliatus) is the only species of oystercatcher native to the Atlantic coast of North America and is restricted in distribution to intertidal shellfish beds in coastal areas.
If you're lucky, you might catch a glimpse here of West Indian manatees, gopher tortoises, bald eagles or an
American oystercatcher on one of the many trails that weave around the island.
Foraging behaviour and diet of
American Oystercatchers in a Patagonian intertidal area affected by nutrient loading.
