Throughout March, a pair of Oystercatchers have been spotted on the reserve at RSPB Geltsdale, enjoying the beck and wetland area. This week, we are sharing some key facts about these distinctive wading birds, their habits and habitats.
Oystercatchers (scientific name Haematopus ostralegus) are large, black and white wading birds, known for their reddish-pink legs and long, orange-red bill. When in flight, they have a wide, white wing stripe, a black tail and a white rump which extends as a V shape between their wings. Their eyes are also red. Females look similar to males, but with slightly longer bills, while juveniles have paler bills, legs and feet, and buff-coloured feathers on their upper bodies.
Oystercatchers breed on nearly all UK coasts, though some – like our visitors at Geltsdale – have started to breed inland over the past 50 years, favouring pastures, riverside fields and areas around flooded gravel workings. Most will still spend the winter on the coast, however, where, in the east of the UK, they are joined by birds migrating from Norway and Iceland. They can be seen wintering on major estuaries such as the Solway Firth. Wintering oystercatchers present with a white collar and duller bill than they have in summer. They eat mussels and cockles on the shore, and mainly worms inland. Their bill is strong and pointed, or chisel-shaped, allowing them to prise or hammer open shells and probe into sand and soil for worms.
They are sociable birds, forming large, noisy flocks, recognisable by their loud ‘peep-ing’ call. They live an average of 12 years, although the oldest recorded oystercatcher (ringed as a chick in Lincolnshire in 1970 and caught by the same bird ringer in 2010) made it to 40 years, one month and two days. They grow to 40 to 45 cm long as adults, with a wingspan of 83 cm. When nesting, male oystercatchers make a ‘scrape’ in the ground which they line with shells, rock fragments and mammal droppings, then the females lay between two and five camouflaged eggs, which are incubated by both the male and female for 24 to 25 days. They both then feed the chicks, which fledge at around 33 days, but still rely on their parents for food for some time.
Britain supports up to 45 per cent of Europe’s oystercatchers over winter, a population which is internationally important, especially given that the species is classified as amber under the Birds of Conservation Concern. Their distinctive appearance and call make them easily recognisable and it is a delight to see them thriving here at RSPB Geltsdale.