Spot the Oystercatcher

All Icelanders know the oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus), which is very noticeable due to its loud calls during summer. The oystercatcher is a wader (Charadrii) belonging to the Haematopodidae family, widely distributed on the coast of Western Europe but also found in Eastern Europe and Asia.

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The Oystercatcher's Characteristics

The oystercatcher is easy to recognize as it is a large wader, weighs about 595 grams (21 oz), and the length is 40-45 centimetres (15.8-17.7 in). The bird is black, but its wings have a noticeable white strip. The belly, sides and rump are also white. Eyes are bright red with an orange eyering on adults. The feet are long and slender, a feature of waders, dull pink coloured. The orange beak is long and straight, 4.1-3.5 in. Juveniles are similar to adults but with a duller colour and a dark tip at the beak, along with a white throat. The sexes look alike, but the male is slightly larger, The oystercatcher is a fast runner and flyer and a good swimmer.

Distribution and Population Size

The oystercatcher is found all around Iceland but mostly in lowlands and close to shores. His main nesting habitat is southwest Iceland along the banks of large rivers and farmed fields. The population is estimated at around 13,000 breeding pairs. The oystercatcher is mostly migratory and leaves the country in late fall. A big part of the population winters in Great Britain, but some birds migrate all the way to Galicia in northwest Spain. A few thousand birds are stationary on Icelandic shores. Most of them breed in the Breiðafjörður area and are found during the winter in southwest or southeast Iceland.

The Oystercatcher is Very Loyal to its Nesting Site

The oystercatcher arrives in Iceland in March and is seen in large groups feeding on mudflats on the south coast. Courtship starts as soon as the birds arrive in the country. They are monogamous and loyal to their companions, often pairing for a lifetime. The birds are very loyal to their nesting sites, often nesting at exactly the same spot every year. A pair has been observed nesting at the same spot for 20 years. The oystercatcher does not nest in colonies; each pair has its own territory.

The Parents Feed Their Youngs 

The nest is a small dent in the ground insulated with straws and gravel, which is most often close to the sea or water. Egg laying starts in late April or the beginning of May but can be delayed until June if conditions were bad in the previous months. The eggs are 2-4, brown coloured with dark spots. Both sexes incubate the eggs, which hatch in 23-27 days. After hatching, the parents feed the young, which freely roam the territory. Very few waders feed their young, which is a characteristic behaviour of the Haematopodidae family.

What Do They Eat and How?

The oystercatcher is an opportunist, feeding on the most abundant food in its surroundings. In spring and summer, it is often seen feeding in farms and wetlands, where worms and insects are abundant. At the coast, it feeds on molluscs, both bivalves and gastropods and polychaeta, which it picks up from mudflats with its long beak.

Oystercatchers behave differently when feeding on bivalves. They either use their long beak to cut the bivalve tendon and pull out the fish or break the bivalve on a stone. The young learn their parents' technique and only use that one.

Five Interesting Facts About the Oystercatcher

1. The oystercatcher is the national bird of the Faroe Islands.
2. The oystercatcher is one of the few waders that feed their young. Most other wader chicks collect food by themselves after hatching.
3. The oystercatcher sometimes nests in cities and towns.
4. The average lifespan of an oystercatcher is about 12 years. The oldest known individual in Iceland was 29 years old, but in England, it was 43 years old.
5. The oystercatcher becomes sexually mature at 3-5 years old.