Latin:
- Haematopus bachmani
Subspecies:
Viewing Scale:
Black Oystercatchers eat mollusks preferably mussels, along with barnacles, limpets, sand worms, and crabs. They tend to feed in areas with macrophytic algae (Fucus gardneri) and mussels. They use their strong bills to pry open the shells of their prey, and they have been known to use tools such as rocks or sticks to help them with this task.
The worlds population is estimated to be around 10,000 birds and considered a species of high concern in the Alaska. Around 65% of all Black Oystercatchers are believed to reside in Alaska. Some will migrate over 600 miles seasonally while others may stay around their nesting areas.
Preferring rocky shorelines, they are found all along the coast of the southern ends of Alaska from the Aleutians across south-central and throughout southeast and on to the Baja in Mexico. In Chugach National Forest they've been used as an indicator species for sign of a healthy costal ecology.
In winter Black Oystercatchers will tend to group in tens to hundreds.
