While walking the beaches of Shirley Chisholm State Park today checking the area where Oystercatchers nested last year, I noticed a "nest-protective" behavior by an Oystercatcher, but it wasn't in the same area. It was in an area where there is no sand above the tide level. I have never seen Oystercatcher nest in areas other then sandy beaches. All the nests I have seen over the year were build on sand.
Suddenly, another Oystercatcher flew off the rocky area after it saw me approaching. When I checked the place, I found a nest built on straws on top of rocks. It was very surprising to me. I know Willet build their nests on these straws but not oystercatcher. I remember that last year the Oystercatcher nest that was built over the very limited sandy area of this beach had failed and most likely because of a sea storm, The nest was very close to the high tide line. This year, the Oystercatchers decided to use a Willet method and build a nest on straws on top of the rock, way above the high tide line It is a nice way to improvise in harsh conditions and keeping the species going. A survival instinct, I guess. You can see photos of this nest on eBird: https://ebird.org/checklist/S89493742 Gus Keri -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01 Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
