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#oystercatcher

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Oystercatchers (Haematopus ostralegus) and Wigeon (Anas penelope) are busy along the shoreline between Blacknore and Redcliffe Bay.

There are 12 species of oystercatcher in the world, all of which look very similar, being either pied or plain black, with a red bill and red legs.

Like other ducks, Wigeon will sometimes mate with other species to produce hybrid young.

The early bir... oystercatcher catches the oyst... the worm!

These colorful and loud birds, Eurasian oystercatchers, are just wonderful, and I am already looking forward to their return in April. I think my spring starts the moment I see or hear them for the first time. But on the other hand, I have a few traumatic memories about them. There is a specific oystercatcher couple I check each year. They like to nest on a high roof, and unfortunately their chicks often do not survive the fall to the ground. It's so depressing :( Seeing one of the parents guarding a dead chick... Damn... Please pleeeeease build your nest somewhere else this year.

Moving on, the oystercatchers were mainly coastal birds in the past, but in recent years they have moved inland, too. In addition to opening clams, that "carrot" is handy for pulling worms out of the lawn.

#eurasianoystercatcher
#oystercatcher
#haematopusostralegus
#birds
#helsinki
#finland