The Blackish Oystercatcher (Haematopus Ater)

First of all, let me tell you that I'm a non-native English speaker, so I apologize for the grammar and sense mistakes you may find in the following text. Anyway, I think you'll understand most of the info presented. That being said, I'll tell you about an interesting bird species that we usually run across in our beach hikings, particularly, in our ecotour Costa Esmeralda (Horcón y Maitencillo hiking).

The Blackish oystercatchers presence however can be easily detected by its loud and distinctive warning calls. The Blackish Oystercatcher (Haematopus ater) is found in Argentina, Chile, the Falkland Islands and Peru, and is a vagrant to Uruguay.Its natural habitats are rocky shores.

Their particular light redish beak helps them to easily open and taste delicious shellfish and other sea animals. By the same token, they are highly appreciated by predators such as small foxes and raccoons. They have a long reproduction season from February to July. Nests are usually made above the high water line in a shallow hollow, amongst rock debris or in a crevice. Adults mimic being hurt or nest in empty places to deviate the attention from predators. Both parents are in charge of taking care of the babies.

These babies can walk after a few hours from birth, however, they need at least two months to properly open their own bivalves. They leave parents' home after six months and their lives will pass away after a ten-years journey.

Hope you have enjoyed this small description and I invite you to post any comments.If you are interested in this species, here it is a useful link: http://mundoazul.org/habitats-species/shore-birds-waterfowl/blackish-oystercatcher-haematopus-ater/

In Bato Explora, we're waiting to explore with you this and many other surprises in our ecotours.

Hope hearing from you soon,

Sebastian