American Oystercatcher

Status Three records. Blakiston and Bland (1857) state that "it has been seen here," without providing details. Audubon claimed to have found it nesting along the shores of the Bay of Fundy about 1833 (Forbush 1916). The location as cited does not rule out the possibility that he saw it on the New Brunswick side of the bay. It was not recorded again until 20 July 1907 when W.H. Osgood saw a flock of about 20 at Digby (Cooke 1910). A more recent sight record is provided by Charles R.K. Allen, John Comer and Thomas F.T. Morland, who saw an oystercatcher at Grand Desert, near Chezzetcook Inlet, Halifax County, on 19 May 1957; whether the bird was an American Oystercatcher or its European counterpart, Haematopus ostralegus, was not determined. One at Matthew's Lake, Shelburne County, on 28 April 1983 was confirmed from a photograph by Robert Turner.

Remarks The American Oystercatcher is a large (43-53 cm), brown-backed shorebird with a black head and throat, a white belly and white wing patches, which are conspicuous in flight. The large bill is bright red. It occurs normally on beaches and is particularly wary.

Along the Atlantic coast it breeds locally from Massachusetts to the Gulf States and the Caribbean. The very similar European Oystercatcher, H. ostralegus (which has not been recorded in North America), has a black rather than dark brown back.