Wednesday, October 29, 2008

OYSTERCATCHERS - ABC WEDNESDAY

ABC - O is for oystercatchers.

If you are inland you may never of heard of this bird, or sub specices of bird. A common sight around Ramsey Harbour, and the Promenade and a wonderful sight to see in flight, with the white underbelly, and black overwing.

The oystercatchers are a group of waders; they form the family Haematopodidae, which has a single genus, Haematopus. They are found on coasts worldwide apart from the polar regions and some tropical regions of Africa and South East Asia. The exception to this is the Eurasian Oystercatcher and the South Island Oystercatcher, both of which breed inland, far inland in some cases. In the past there has been a great deal of confusion as to the species limits, with discrete populations of all black oystercatchers being afforded specific status but pied oystercatchers being considered one single species.

So is this a bird you know or is it a bird you have only ever seen virtually? I was not at all familiar with this bird until I first moved to a coastal setting. Now I am so used to seeing these birds patrol the pebbled shores and sandy beaches of Ramsey, or passing overhead that they are as familiar to be as the garden sparrow.

I am currently offline a lot this week due to having find alternative printing arrangements for my photos. I am definitely going to try Red Bubble, but I'm still looking for somewhere on line that will do reliable prints at a reasonable price over a range of products as I was before. I want my images to still be affordable in varied forms, and don't want anyone being ripped off. So if you know of a reliable print sales site, good quality at prices you would consider paying let me know. It is impossible to get this done on the island. Thanks in advance.

Want to join ABC got the lovely hostess with the mostest, MRS NESBITT'S PLACE

73 comments:

Anonymous said...

One of my favourite birds - very common on Inishfree. We would hear them from the cottage.

Webradio said...

Hello You !

Nice photo, and thank You for the lesson of science...

Anonymous said...

This is the first time I heard of such bird.. thanks for the info.

My "O" photos are now posted here and here. Hope you can pass by, too! Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful photo of Oystercatchers. Here in Crete, Greece I have never seen these birds, but they are beautiful thanks to your photographs.

Ray

Profile Not Available said...

You are brave. I think my first reaction when a bunch of birds fly over head is not to look up with my camera. Duck, or run and hide usually win out!

: )

ChrissyM said...

Gorgeous photo! Your photos are are always so pretty and your post are filled with a wealth of info, I enjoy visiting your blog.

For reliable photo printing not sure if they ship to your location but I have used snapfish.com before (shipping is a little pricey) but the quality is great and can get good deals if you preorder credits. My friend uses webshots and she swears by them (webshots.com) but I have never used them before. They are 2 off the top of my head. Hope that helps you.

Jane Hards Photography said...

Thank you Chrissym. That's the kind of thing I'm after. I used to have a very reliable online service, but their do site is not up to standard and I want to retain the qulaity at prices that people can still afford. I'll check both those out.

Carletta said...

What a beautiful capture!

photowannabe said...

Great capture of these beach patroling birds. Good information too.

Mickie Imrie said...

Ooh, I love coming across blogs like this. Good Pictures, especially the ones of the pier.

Nothing so interesting on mine but you can check out some travel photography and free advice here.

Unknown said...

Wonderful!!!

Anonymous said...

Great capture. I didn't know these birds.

Anonymous said...

LB,

I know these birds. Hope things get back to normal around here. Blog of note was a kick for sure, but I wanna say for the record,I was here before the wannabes. You gote my vote everyday.

Priscila C. Garcia said...

It´s incredible the surprises of the mother nature. The power and the beauty.
That´s a great picture.
Shows how it´s important to take care and to preserve the nature.
;)

Anonymous said...

That is such an interesting bird. On my walks on the beach here I've seen birds I had never seen in my 50 some years. I love seeing something besides a crow or seagull!

Hilda said...

Count me in among those who've never heard of the oystercatcher before! Looks like it's outlined in black, the way you took this shot — pretty!

Congratulations on being declared a Blogger 'blog of note' recently! You truly deserve it, Babooshka!

George Townboy said...

I've heard of them, but never seen one that I know of, till now of course. Awesome shot! I just caught up with your posts, I've been kind of missing in action ... the Queens Pier shots are exceptional! Well, all of your shots are exceptional!

kRiZcPEc said...

that's many of them!

Rinkly Rimes said...

I feel we should make ABC Wednesday even trickier by including 'sounds' like 'ch' 'oo' and, of course, 'oy'. You'd win hands down.

Don't forget to look out for Felicity Hamilton!!! She lives in Ramsey and I taught her in Zimbabwe.

Lew said...

Geat photo of the birds in flight! I don't remember seeing them, but with oysters in the Chesapeake Bay, the birds are probably there too.

Louis la Vache said...

Oh! GOOd One, BabOOshka! What great rhythm this image has!

Anonymous said...

Nice pictures

Michele Wassell said...

Great post.. Very interesting.. Lovely photos!

naturglede/Randi Lind said...

Nice birds. I love too lock at the oystercatcher when it is walking in the sand. You have a greate photo of them:)

antigoni said...

Great post and beautiful birds!

Olivier said...

et deux heures après, c'était le remake des oiseaux d'Hitchcock ;o)

Gordon said...

A lovely shot. Apparently the pied oystercatcher is native to Australia; so I will keep a look out.

angie said...

beautiful crisp shot - love the way it pulls me across the frame

spacedlaw said...

We used to have tons of them on the premises when I was working in Holland (we were right behind the beach dunes). They are an extremely chatty bunch!
Good O choice.

Rakesh Vanamali said...

Great shot! And thanks also for the write-up on Oyestercatchers!

Cheers

Rakesh

Songwriter F Space said...

Very nice blog and some amazing photos... well done.

Anonymous said...

It reminds me of a flock of birds I see here sometimes in the fall when they are migrating south.

Pat said...

Well, I don't know if I have seen an oystercatcher, or even if they are in the US. My mother lives on the west coast...I'm about to Google them for a close-up!

I like this photo!

Pat said...

Yep! Just Googled and I see we Yanks have a black version; very cute. Will look for them next time I'm in Seattle!

Maria's Space said...

Such a great photo. Thank goodness no one did their business on your head.

Really cool pic

Jim Klenke said...

I think this is the first time I have seen these birds, or at least the first time I found out what they were.

Gerald (Ackworth born) said...

Last time I saw oystercatchers was around the grounds of a Distillery on the Isle of Arran - have seen them in the past at several points in the West of Scotland - lovely lopking birds they are.

Anonymous said...

Oh this is a lovley picture. Makes me think of the beach. Great for us here in London today after snow fell last night!

Irredento Urbanita said...

Civilization don't let this animals live here cities. There is something we are doing badly.

Peaceful photo.

Valery

Anonymous said...

I haven't been online for a couple of days (another cold). So only today have I caught up with you being a blogger of note. CONGRATS!! I didn't think it would be too long before you received that recognition.

Dragonstar said...

I love oystercatchers, and your photo (naturally!) is perfect. Brings back so many memories.

AphotoAday said...

I've been aware of this bird with the bright orange beak for a several years, but only recently did I learn of it's name... I've never seen such a flock of them, however... Nice photo...

Tanya Breese said...

Beautiful B!

Liz Hinds said...

WE most often see them on the golf course that runs beside the sea.

Chuck Pefley said...

Not sure I've seen these before. Their beaks look strong and capable ... didn't realize I had to share my oysters with this flock :)

MumbaiiteAnu said...

Great capture of the birds. I haven't heard of them.
Coongratulations on being in 'Blogs of Note'.

Rune Eide said...

According to your description we ought to have them, but neither bell name nor picture make the bell ring.

Greyhound Girl said...

I've never seen these birds myself, I don't think. They are pretty, though.

Bear Naked said...

I've never heard or seen this bird before.
Thanks for a very informative post.

Bear((( )))

Marie-Noyale said...

I don'n think I have seen them before in here or in Brittany France where I am from...and we have many oysters there!!

Stephanie Koss said...

great photos :]

Sherrie said...

Hi!
Never heard of this bird, but I live in Northeastern Indiana, so wouldn't know them. They are pretty, great photo! Take Care!!

Sherrie

Victor said...

Didn't know the oystercatcher until today. Maybe they are around here too but since our property is not waterfront, maybe I haven't seen them yet.

As for the prints, I am planning to buy an Epson printer and a set of archival inks to print my own black and white work for exhibition and for online sale. Every time I have farmed printing out (30+ years as a photographer) I have been disappointed in the results. Is DIY too time-consuming for you? Just curious.

Cheers!

DeeJay said...

Thank you for another excellent choice

Theresa said...

Pretty!

http://apaintersdiary.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

They look wonderful in a group and their black heads are great.

PrithV said...

very nice picture
i also av a blog av a look
http://prithv-gyaan.blogspot.com/
http://vmuvi-gyaan.blogspot.com/

Kim said...

woo hoo! You've been featured on Blogger's "Blogs of Note" page. Congrats! This is exciting.
-Kim
Seattle Daily Photo

Saretta said...

Lovely birds, never seen them before!

Benjamin Madison said...

Beautiful bird beautifully photographed. I used to see them on the west coast of Africa when I lived there, also Black Oystercatchers.

tr3nta said...

another great shot... lots of followers u have... :-)

Sugee Andersyn said...

That's a beautiful pic. Thanks!

Ann On and On... said...

This is the exact reason I started blogging...experience. Looking at life through someones pictures or words. Beautiful pictures.

Anonymous said...

I love birds, not in cages though. Congratulations "Blog of Note"

Christina S said...

Wow, you're getting a few extra visitors being a blog of note! Probably a bit impossible to visit everyone back!!

I like the Oystercatchers. I hadn't heard of them before.

Anonymous said...

The original photo elsewhere:
http://aeiou.escape.expresso.pt/community.php?comm=488

Jane Hards Photography said...

Anonymous.

Your link has no images.
This is my original image. I do not take kindly to people ripping off my images. This image is copyrighted, timed, dated and on my sales site.

If you want to show me the proper link so I can check this out that would be great, and also a name or email me if you prefer.

Suburbia said...

Such lovely birds. I love the noise they make too!

Sandra said...

Visiting from Blogger/Blog of Note

:)

raf said...

Winner, hands down, of all the Os today! Love it, Baboosh, thank you!

Anonymous said...

Your oystercatchers look like the American seagulls. Wonderful shot!

Anak Dokan said...

I never seen those birds before. Thanks for sharing. The picture is great. I tried to take picture of bird flying before but none is good. Is it b'cos I use pocket camera?

Max-e said...

Hi Babboshka, interesting post and a nice shot. We have the black oyster catchers in our area, though the European ones have been known to visit in the past. Since your last visit I have done a post on the threat of a development to our local oyster catchers, which are endangered.

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