Banded Oystercatcher

St. Marks NWR receives visitors from around the state, the country and the world. Recently we had a visitor from downstate at the refuge.

Last week while doing a shorebird survey, I saw two American Oystercatchers in Lighthouse Pool. American Oystercatchers are crow-sized black and white birds with a long bright red bill. Seen closely or through a scope they have a yellow iris within a red eye ring. Both males and females look alike. They feed primarily on bivalves –including oysters –, clams, crustaceans and marine worms. They use their scissor-like bill to hammer shells open enough to cut the muscle holding the shell closed.

I’ve been seeing these two oystercatchers resting in Lighthouse Pool at high tide and I could see red bands on the upper legs of one bird. These bands are color-coded. Each state in which oystercatchers are banded has a distinct color, which let me know that this was a Florida-banded bird. The bands have letter/number combinations that are large enough to allow them to be read through binoculars or a scope. The same letter/number combination is on each band to facilitate reading the information.

During my previous sightings, the two oystercatchers were always far out in the pool and walking in deep water. I was never able to do more than tell that one bird was banded and had a Y as part of its code. Last week they were feeding close to the Lighthouse Pool Trail and over about fifteen minutes of observation I was able to read and photograph the bands. The code was Y over the number 37 on a red band and I submitted that information and the photograph to the proper authorities.

It turns out that the oystercatcher was originally banded in Withlacoochee Bay in Levy County in the Summer of 2018 and was recorded there again several times last Summer. It has now moved to Wakulla County. American Oystercatchers commonly live for ten years, but there is a record of a seventeen-year old bird. Although commonly seen in our area, there may be as few as 10,000 birds left in North America. Future sightings will help biologists understand oystercatcher movements and behavior. 

It is always a good idea to check to see if a bird is banded and finding banded shorebirds or Black Skimmers is relatively common. You can go to the Florida Shorebird Alliance website and click the Resources tab to get to a page that explains how to read bands and where to send the information..  You will usually be contacted and given information about the bird that you have reported. Over the years I’ve learned that one of the Wilson’s Plovers that I see on Stony Bayou I came from Georgia and that a Piping Plover stopping by the refuge was banded as a chick in North Dakota. 

Obtaining banding information doesn’t take much effort and it adds to our understanding of bird movement and use at St Marks NWR.