Aangela Paltridge wrote:
> Last weekend I was at the Murray River mouth and saw a group of 86
oystercatchers. 36 of these were definitely Pied Oystercathers, and the
others were
> too far away (& it was too hazy) to identify as Pied or Sooty. I've
never seen this many OC in one place - is this a significant record?
>
As far as my experience goes with Oystercatchers I would say that you have
seen a rather large number all at once.
I have called up all my records on my Database of both species and have
made the following observations:
PIED OYSTERCATCHER - usually in twos or threes only - the most was 9 at
Port Davis (south of Port Pirie) on 6/2/82 and 4 at Nelson (Victoria) on
17/12/98
SOOTY OYSTERCATCHER - my records show that they occur in numbers from 1 - 7
- my largest group sighting was 15 at Port Augusta on 16/6/78 and 10 at
Port Elliot on 21/1/90.
Pizzey and Knight's Field Guide says that the Sooty "is less common that
the Pied"
- this is not my experience in South Australia - what have other observers
recorded?
Trevor Hampel
Murray Bridge
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