For the past two summers, the naturalist staff at LSSI has taken part in a project working with American Oystercatchers. The project involved incubating eggs of the Oystercatchers from the time they were laid until they hatched, when the chicks were returned to their parents. The work is part of a study being conducted by a graduate student at Georgia Southern University, but the initiative is part of a larger plan. A collaboration known as the American Oystercatcher Working Group has developed a Conservation Action Plan for the shorebirds; American Oystercatchers are officially dubbed a Species of High Concern in the larger U.S. Shorebird Conservation Plan. The total estimated number of American Oystercatchers on the east coast is about 11,000 birds. Below are some photos taken during the project.
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- An adult American Oystercatcher on a nest
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- American Oystercatcher eggs in a nest
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- Switching real eggs with “dummy” eggs
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- Real eggs in the nest were replaced with false eggs
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- Eggs were weighed before they were placed in the incubator
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- The eggs developed inside the incubator
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- When the chicks began to hatch, they were “pipping”
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- At pipping, eggs were moved to individual “nests” in a hatcher
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- A chick a few hours after it hatched
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- The chicks were returned the beach in a cooler to keep from overheating
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- Chicks were returned to their nests as soon after hatching as possible
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- A clutch with two chicks and an egg returned to their beach nest
