American Oystercatchers are large shorebirds with black heads, brown backs, white undersides, large red bills, yellow eyes and have pink legs with black toenails.
Today's post is about an American Oystercatcher image taken in 2009 at Egmont Key in Pinellas County, Florida and the story behind it.
The soft light of dawn has a special quality to it and I believe that it is evident in both of these American Oystercatcher photos.
Taking photographs of shorebirds at eye level was very fulfilling for me and the images that resulted from my down & dirty technique have always made me feel an intimate connection to the birds.
Why? Because the image is never as important as the well being and safety of my subject, especially when it comes to nests and chicks.
These four birds, an American Oystercatcher, a Greater Sage-Grouse, a Reddish Egret and a Mountain Plover are all facing the risk of extinction without serious conservation measures to reduce declines in populations and habitat destruction.
Last night I spent some time dreaming of oystercatchers. I could hear them in my dream and see them scurrying along the waves.
I watched this juvenile American Oystercatcher on the shore of the Gulf grow up in 2008 at Fort De Soto County Park's north beach.
American Oystercatchers are one of my favorite shorebirds to photograph along the Gulf of Mexico because of their unusual appearance.
For every Mom everywhere
It has been five and a half years since I photographed American Oystercatchers at Fort De Soto County Park in Florida and oddly enough I still dream about these shorebirds.
American Oystercatchers are specialized in that their diet consists of bivalves and they do use that flashy orange bill to pry some of them open.
Six years ago this morning I was photographing birds at Fort De Soto County Park and I wanted to share a few images and memories of that day.
Just a simple post of an American Oystercatcher about to be awash in sea foam at Fort De Soto's north beach taken back in September of 2008.
Happy Mother's Day 2014!
I feel that as a bird photographer I need to care for my subjects every time I am in the field and that is amplified when there are young, defenseless chicks.
Preening in birds is essential for keeping their feathers clean, arranged correctly and for some birds it is a way to distribute oils from the uropygial gland which helps to keep the feathers clean and healthy.
One of two species of oystercatchers in North America the American Oystercatchers quickly stole my heart after I first saw them because of their colors, long bills, pink legs and their Goth-like black toenails.
In 2008 I spent several months during the summer watching an American Oystercatcher family from the time the chicks were tiny until one of the chicks became independent.
Some days I find myself missing Fort De Soto so much it hurts, the birds I found there and the entire experience of just being there. It is just such an amazing place, how could I not miss it?
Five years ago today I headed to the north beach of Fort De Soto County Park despite knowing that there were looming storms off of the coast hanging just off shore over the Gulf of Mexico and I am glad that I did because the light that day on the beach was exquisite.
I like to include habitat in my images when I am able to do so, especially when the habitat doesn't obstruct the view of my subject or when the habitat helps to define a sense of place.
Fluffy little chicks are adorable, they make people "ohh" and "aww" and those that hit the ground running not long after hatching are especially appealing to some folks. But they need respect and they need space so we don't endanger them.
American Oystercatchers were among my favorite shorebirds to photograph at Fort De Soto County Park's north beach when I lived in Florida.
I don't get to see or photograph Oystercatchers here in Utah but I still dream about these shorebirds and can hear their calls when I look at the thousands of images I took of them.
In 2008 I had the great pleasure of observing and photographing a family of American Oystercatchers from the day after the chicks hatched until three and a half months later.
I've been working up images for a long post and this American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus) image is a clue as to what that post will be about.
These two photos are of the same adult American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus) in sequential order taken at Fort De Soto County Park in Florida. I was laying in the sand while I created the images to get a low angle and the bird was on a ridge elevated slightly higher than my location.
I've always liked this photo because it shows how this American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus) is using its long bill to pry open a shell.
I recently read about a congenital condition in humans called "iris colobomas" which is also found in other mammals and birds and have begun to wonder if that might not be the cause of the abnormal pupils I see in some species of birds instead of an injury to the eye.
I was laying down in the wet sand with my lens about an inch from the surface of the beach when I photographed these shorebirds, one needs to watch out for those rogue waves because they don't only wash away the bird's prey... they can soak your lens & camera too!