BIG NEWS!!!!

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BIG NEWS!
Guess what? Guess what? THE BLACK OYSTERCATCHERS HAVE BABIES!!!! THREE OF THEM!!!!!! AND THEY SURVIVED THEIR FIRST WEEK OF LIFE!!!!     We are REALLY excited about the little fellas. It has been a week and a half of a lot of excitement and a little added stress. We are working hard to ensure that the parents are happy and that the babies are protected. Please help us do that by understanding why there might be more area closed off than normal. Black Oystercatchers are extremely special birds and we are lucky to have a pair that nests at the Rock.

Ready for the quick and dirty story of Black Oystercatchers: They are shore birds who are considered a species of concern because their population is so low. It is estimated that there is only 400 on the entire coastline of Oregon, approximately one for every mile. They are territorial and will loudly chase off any other Oystercatcher that comes to close. At the Rock, there has been a pair nesting for a while. Unfortunately, it has been three years since they were successful in their nesting, even though they have tried relentlessly.

This year that changed, there was a successful nest. We suspect that the reason for the somewhat sudden change was that there is a new pair of Black Oystercatchers nesting at the Rock and that one of them is the off-spring from a few years ago. And that the old pair has simply moved over to the Needles as happy “grandparents”.


Never the less, there is babies running around the Rock!!! 


© 2017 Diana Robinson.

Comments

  1. WaianaeGalJuly 18, 2017 at 4:41 PM

    I was so very excited to see the babies. As a volunteer at Haystack Rock last summer and terribly devastated for the Black Oystercatchers loss of their 2 eggs, having 3 successful chicks this year brings much joy to so many people. Stay safe and care for those babies for all of us. Thanks HRAP for sharing the wonderful news. Carlene

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kim Rose AdamsAugust 1, 2017 at 9:15 PM

    Yay for nature finding a way with this one!

    ReplyDelete

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