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Order: Ciconiiformes Family: Haematopodidae Chick Type: Precocial (Only need parental attendance) American Oystercatchers are found year round along the eastern United States coastline from Connecticut to south Texas. They are also found in Baja California and western coastline of Mexico. There are five subspecies of the American Oystercatcher, two of which are native to North America. Their diet consists of marine invertebrates such as shell fish, barnacles and snails. They use their dagger like bills to hammer open shellfish. American Oystercatchers lay 1-4 eggs in a scrape in the ground. The egg takes 24 - 28 days to hatch. The chicks fledge when they around two month old, but some will stay with the parents for 6 months. When the breeding population is high, instead of pairing up, some birds will nest in threesome! Both females and the male help out in nesting responsibilities. The population of American Oystercatchers is not huge, the current estimate is around 8,000 birds. Wildlife refuges and sanctuaries play a important factor in the continue survival of this species. Places like Cape Romain NWR provides a safe wintering ground for large numbers of Oystercatchers, while the Barrier Island reserves of Virginia provides an important breeding ground (Chipley, Fenwick, Parr, and Pashley 2003). In world were ocean front property and recreation is in high demand, habitat for many shorebirds are shrinking quickly. Please check out the American Oystercatcher Conservation Plan for the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the United States. Worldwide, there are 11 species in the family Haematopodidae, two of which are found in the United States. Oystercatchers are found in places like Africa, Asia and New Zealand. |
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