Black Oystercatchers

Haematopus bachmani
Medium: Colored pencil on film

Black oystercatchers (Haematopus bachmani) are large shorebirds that frequent rocky shorelines along the Pacific coast. They are often seen traveling in pairs, and tend to stay within a particular territory for feeding and nesting from one year to the next. In winter, they will leave this territory to form large flocks within areas that have lots of mussel beds. Both the male and female have a black head and chest, with gray, brown feathers on their back and abdomen. They are easy to spot with their bright red bill, thick, pink legs, and yellow eyes with a red orbital ring. You will often hear the oyster catcher couples before you see them, as they chatter loudly to each other while flying from rock to rock foraging for molluscs, mussels and limpets.