Haematopus bachmani

Ants on Bird

July 29, 2021July 22, 2021 Marty Nicolaus 130 Views 1 Comment Haematopus bachmani

I was watching this solo Black Oystercatcher on a rock off the east side of the seasonal Burrowing Owl sanctuary.

* Birds Black Oystercatcher

Haematopus X

April 12, 2021April 4, 2021 Marty Nicolaus 151 Views Haematopus bachmani

Watching the Black Oystercatchers at work, I always admire their industry and their intelligence in using their beak. This hard

* Birds Black Oystercatcher

Versatile Beak

January 12, 2021January 7, 2021 Marty Nicolaus 134 Views 0 Comments Haematopus bachmani, John Bachman

This Black Oystercatcher has an enviable beak. It’s hard and sharp to cut through the muscle that lets shellfish keep

* Birds Black Oystercatcher

Mussel Splitters

May 19, 2020May 19, 2020 Marty Nicolaus 481 Views Haematopus bachmani

Oysters can’t run, so why are these birds named “oystercatchers”? Here they’re at work demonstrating their technique for opening mussels.

* Birds Black Oystercatcher

Why do they dip?

October 3, 2019October 1, 2019 Marty Nicolaus 575 Views 0 Comments Haematopus bachmani

This Black Oystercatcher showed the same body dipping habit that the Spotted Sandpiper is famous for. The Willet does the

* Birds Black Oystercatcher Not BUOW Willet

Mussels and Clams

January 3, 2019January 20, 2019 Mosey2014 1229 Views Haematopus bachmani

What does an Oystercatcher do in the absence of oysters? Why, mussels and clams will do just fine, thank you.

* Birds Black Oystercatcher

Sound of the Oystercatcher

October 12, 2018October 9, 2018 Mosey2014 1005 Views Haematopus bachmani

This time I heard them before I saw them. It was low tide in the morning. I stepped slowly toward

* Birds Black Oystercatcher Snowy Egret Willet

Summer Steadies

July 9, 2018July 31, 2018 Mosey2014 1147 Views Egretta thula, Haematopus bachmani, Tringa semipalmata

The Red-winged Blackbirds, their breeding done, departed about a week after Summer Solstice. They usually leave earlier, but then they

* Birds Black Oystercatcher

Oystercatchers and Poppies: a Flashback

June 12, 2018June 10, 2018 Mosey2014 1207 Views Haematopus bachmani

My intent was to photograph the California Poppies. But when I got closer I saw a pair of Black Oystercatchers

* Birds Black Oystercatcher

Black Oystercatcher Getting Breakfast

March 5, 2018January 21, 2019 Mosey2014 1125 Views Haematopus bachmani

I’d wondered what Black Oystercatchers actually eat. They’re stuck with a weird name. You don’t “catch” oysters, they can’t run.

* American Avocet American Coot American Crow American White Pelican American Wigeon Belted Kingfisher Birds Black Oystercatcher Black Phoebe Black Turnstone Black-bellied Plover Black-crowned Night Heron Black-necked Stilt Brown Pelican Bufflehead Burrowing Owl Canada Goose Clark's Grebe Common Goldeneye Common Loon Double-crested Cormorant Eared Grebe Eurasian Wigeon Featured Video Forster's Tern Great Blue Heron Great Egret Greater Scaup Greater Yellowlegs Horned Grebe Least Sandpiper Long-billed Curlew Mallard Marbled Godwit Mew Gull Northern Pintail Red-throated Loon Ring-billed Gull Ruddy Duck Snowy Egret Spotted Sandpiper Surf Scoter Turkey Vulture Western Grebe Western Gull Whimbrel White-tailed Kite Willet

North Basin: The Video

February 12, 2018May 20, 2020 Mosey2014 2454 Views 2 Comments Actitis macularius, Aechmophorus clarkii, Aechmophorus occidentalis, Anas acuta, Anas platyrhynchos, Ardea alba, Ardea herodias, Arenaria melanocephala, Athene cunicularia, Aythya marila, Branta canadensis, Bucephala albeola, Bucephala clangula, Calidris minutilla, Cathartes aura, Corvus brachyrhynchos, Egretta thula, Elanus leucurus, Fulica americana, Gavia immer, Gavia stellata, Haematopus bachmani, Himantopus mexicanus, Larus canus, Larus delawarensis, Larus occidentalis, Limosa fedoa, Mareca americana, Mareca penelope, Megaceryle alcyon, Melanitta perspicillata, Numenius americanus, Numenius phaeopus, Nycticorax nycticorax, Oxyura jamaicensis, Pelecanus erythrorhynchos, Pelecanus occidentalis, Phalacrocorax auritus, Pluvialis squatarola, Podiceps auritus, Podiceps nigricollis, Recurvirostra americana, Sayornis nigricans, Sterna forsteri, Tringa melanoleuca, Tringa semipalmata

The North Basin is the body of water between Cesar Chavez Park and the Berkeley mainland. When I first started

* Birds Black Oystercatcher Least Sandpiper

Not a Mudpecker

December 29, 2017January 21, 2019 Mosey2014 1403 Views 0 Comments Calidris minutilla, Haematopus bachmani

This Black Oystercatcher posed on a rock and ignored the Least Sandpipers busily pecking into the mud beneath it. But

* American Coot Black Oystercatcher Brown Pelican Bufflehead Great Blue Heron Mallard Western Gull White-Crowned Sparrow Willet

The Usual Feathered Suspects

November 12, 2017January 21, 2019 Mosey2014 1290 Views 0 Comments Anas platyrhynchos, Ardea herodias, Bucephala albeola, Fulica americana, Haematopus bachmani, Larus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis, Tringa semipalmata, Zonotrichia leucophrys

The big news in the park this past week was the rain. Soon those brown hills will be green. In

* Birds Black Oystercatcher Black Turnstone Least Sandpiper Spotted Sandpiper

South End Birds

November 1, 2017January 21, 2019 Mosey2014 1420 Views 1 Comment Actitis macularius, Arenaria melanocephala, Calidris minutilla, Haematopus bachmani

The waterbird action late Tuesday afternoon lay on the south side of the North Basin, along the Virginia Street extension.

* Birds Black Oystercatcher Brown Pelican Mammals Savannah Sparrow Snowy Egret

The Bird-y North Basin

October 8, 2017January 21, 2019 Mosey2014 1284 Views 0 Comments Egretta thula, Haematopus bachmani, Passerculus sandwichensis, Pelecanus occidentalis

For sweeping scenic views, the west side of the park is the place to be. But for bird life, the

* Birds Black Oystercatcher Black Turnstone Ceanothus Common Goldeneye Lesser Yellowlegs Long-billed Curlew Marbled Godwit Mew Gull Plants Rock Rose

Sunday Walk

March 5, 2017January 21, 2019 Mosey2014 1937 Views 1 Comment Arenaria melanocephala, Bucephala clangula, Ceanothus, cistus, Haematopus bachmani, Larus canus, Limosa fedoa, Numenius americanus, Tringa flavipes

Clouds dark as a herd of buffalos rumbled across the sky today. Looking up from my observations in the Meadow,

Birds Black Oystercatcher

Black Oystercatchers Meet and Greet

August 11, 2016January 21, 2019 Mosey2014 1400 Views 3 Comments Haematopus bachmani

Black Oystercatchers are not a rare sight in the North Basin. Still, seeing and hearing five of them get together

Birds Black Oystercatcher Extreme Tides Marbled Godwit Weather Willet

Low Tide is Mealtime

August 3, 2016November 11, 2020 Mosey2014 1454 Views 1 Comment Haematopus bachmani, Limosa fedoa, Low Tide, Tringa semipalmata

Saw a pair of Black Oystercatchers this morning, in the shallow low tide waters of the North Basin at the

Birds Black Oystercatcher Extreme Tides Lesser Yellowlegs Marbled Godwit Snowy Egret Willet

Mud: a Feast for Birds

February 4, 2016November 11, 2020 Mosey2014 1554 Views 1 Comment Egretta thula, Haematopus bachmani, Limosa fedoa, Low Tide, Tringa flavipes, Tringa semipalmata

Low tide early this afternoon again exposed the mud bank on the east side of the park, and this time

Birds Black Oystercatcher

Oysters? In Berkeley?

April 4, 2015January 21, 2019 Mosey2014 1417 Views 1 Comment Haematopus bachmani

Oysters? In Berkeley? This bird appears to think so. It’s a Black Oystercatcher, and it was surveying the waters this

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