When I go out for my regular walks in the area, I always try to spot the resident Pied Oystercatcher couple. They never seem to venture too far away. This is their territory. There are no other oystercatchers permanently living here, so when I see one or two, I know they are the same birds. They seem to be more tolerant toward the Sooty Oystercatchers than toward others of their own species. A small flock of 6-8 'Sooties' might stay in the area for a week or two once a year. I believe that there are other Pied Oystercatcher couples, resident in the nearby bays, but they nearly never seem to come over.
My previous attempts to photograph oystercatchers have shown me that they are generally cautious and keep their distance. Until recently I could never get close enough to take good photos.
I've noticed that this couple are very successful as parents - every year they always seem to be able to protect their two chicks until they are fully grown and fly away.
This time I was persistent and tried to photograph them every time I saw them, documented the growth of their offspring and it seems that they got used to me somehow and let me much closer. Below are some photos taken between October 2017 and February 2018.
Although they are always in close proximity of one another I noticed the changes in behaviour. They started doing these little dance displays, combined sometimes with pleasant chirpy vocalisations.
Then while I was looking at the area where I suspected they may have built a nest, an alien oystercatcher appeared. It is difficult to tell whether it was a male, a female or one of the kids from the previous year. Toward me they weren't aggressively protective of their site yet, which led me to think that they still did not have eggs, but I was keeping respectful distance also.
The new arrival tried to socialise at first, casually searching for food near them. This was tolerated for a while. Later however he did some head-bobbing and dancing. This wasn't taken well and he was aggressively chased away by both residents.
Days after that they gradually became more and more annoyed by my presence. Initially they used the old distraction techniques where they pretend to have no interest in the area where I suspected the nest to be. (I never really went too close to it. I knew roughly the location and kept my distance.)
Then a little later they moved from attempts to attract me away to actively swooping and chasing me away. This is how on a foggy day I got these great in-flight shots. It was time for a retreat and for a few weeks I only looked at them from a significant distance.
One day I spotted the little fluffballs. They looked active and healthy, feeding themselves and following their parents, who were very watchful and alert.
Kids grew up fast. There were a couple of pretty bad storms when I did worry how they were doing. The little beaches they use to forage onto join during low tides, but get separated when levels are high. One provides much better shelter than the other. I was worried that they would be trapped on the exposed beach and then big waves, wind and rain would pose much danger.
But they survived the first big storms and kept growing.
A few weeks later they fledged and started stretching their wings. Soon they could fly short distances following their parents and I stopped worrying about them.
Parents were much more relaxed now and I could again get closer and take better photos.
I have some images where all four birds are in frame, but they are not as good, that is why I decided to mostly post the better ones where we have one or two birds in the photograph.
The chicks kept learning how to open shells and search for 'soft' food and as they grew they became more and more independent. I started seeing at first one of them doing its own thing - sleeping separately or walking separately; then the other one followed. They would sometimes join the parents and sometimes appear on their own. The adults started separating also. One of them even disappeared for a few days. This must have signalled that the children are ready for independent lives. Parents needed a break.
I don't know when exactly the young birds moved away and whether they had to be encouraged to do so or did it driven by internal instinct. All my attention around that time must have been taken by my work and I think I skipped a few walks. When I went back, the young birds were gone. Soon after that the adults re-united and went back to their usual routines.
The image below is one of the last ones that I have of the young birds. Both of them looked healthy, independent and very capable of taking care of themselves.
Pied Oystercatcher, Tasmania
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One year later
update Friday, January 4, 2019
There were bushfires near Hobart today and the smoke formed natural filter high in the sky. The light was soft, warm and diffuse. After the heatwave passed and the temperature dropped back to normal, I went outside to see if I could spot any birds to photograph in the unusual light.
What a nice surprise!
The tide was low and I saw the oystercatchers with their next brood. Only days after I posted the story documenting them raising their children last year and mentioned what successful parents they are, here we have two more healthy fledged young oystercatchers, learning how to use the orange can openers and already stretching their new wings.
One of the chicks closely followed the mother who extracted food from the shells and fed it regularly. The other chick, probably a couple of days older, was already looking after itself.
Good luck little ones!
I'm so glad to see you around!
Pied Oystercatcher, Tasmania
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