Dedicated Parenting

For a number of weeks now we’ve been watching a pair of oystercatchers collecting food for their young and patrolling the beach to ward off possible danger. They’ve been busily driving away intruders with anxious whistles and pipes, chases and aggressive flight.

Although we’ve been watching this display of dedicated parenting again this year we haven’t found the nest site. Their usual site is abandoned and empty. They must have found an even more secluded location. The parent birds have been spending a great deal of time on the beach, in the swash zone, and in the nearby fields, looking for worms, a sure sign they’re feeding young. Good to know they have chicks again this year.