News Release

U.S. Department of the Interior
U.S. Geological Survey

Teaming Up to Survey a Coastal Treasure - the Black Oystercatcher

NOTE TO NEWS EDITORS: Photos listed below can be downloaded.

http://fresc.usgs.gov/news/images/2005_13.jpg (black oystercatcher, photo credit: David Pitkin)

Additional Note to Editors: The USGS and USFWS are requesting help from local birders and nature enthusiasts in conducting this survey. Anyone interested should contact eelliott-smith@usgs.gov, 541-754-3906 or liz_kelly@r1.fws.gov, 541-867-4558.

Thousands of Oregonians regularly flock to the coast to participate in annual beach cleanups, but this spring there is an additional opportunity to search for a shorebird instead of trash. The U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are teaming up with volunteers to conduct a coastwide survey of the black oystercatcher.

This large black shorebird with long pink legs and an orange-red bill is relatively easy to spot and fun to watch along the western rocky shores it likes to frequent.

Since 1997, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has organized an annual one-day survey of the black oystercatcher, focused mainly on the central Oregon coast. This year the U.S. Geological Survey will assist in organizing surveys to expand coverage coastwide in Oregon and test a recently developed survey protocol. The protocol will later be used to assess the status of black oystercatchers throughout the southern half of their range, from Washington to California. Information gained from the Oregon surveys will help agencies track population trends over time and help assess impacts of disturbances such as oil spills, to which oystercatchers may be particularly sensitive.

The official survey date this year is May 23, 2005; however, because this is largely a volunteer effort and spans the Oregon coast, surveys will run from May 21 to May 25.

Fewer than 400 black oystercatchers are believed to reside in Oregon, and little is known about their Oregon habitat and breeding biology. About 11,000 birds are found throughout their range from Alaska to Baja, California. Their vulnerability to disturbance has made them a species of conservation concern.

Pairs nest on the rocky coast and offshore islands above the high-tide line and use the intertidal zone to feed themselves and their chicks. Despite their name, diets of adults and chicks consist principally of mussels and limpets, not oysters.

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U.S. Department of Interior, U.S. Geological Survey
Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center
URL: http://fresc.usgs.gov/
Contact: fresc_outreach@usgs.gov
Last Update: February 27, 2003
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