Black Oyster Catcher

Love this bird!  This guy (or girl? they look the same)  was foraging on the intertidal area for quite a long time so I got some decent photos, trying to see just what he was eating…. I’m wondering if there is a nest (I’ve looked but never found) nearby on the rocky beach as there are usually a pair together.   Contrary to their name, they rarely eat oysters, but bivalves, clams and mussels, on the rocks or just under the water…limpets, crabs, sea urchins and barnacles!  I think I saw him go for mussels, limpets and barnacles, liked this photo of the way I think he’s trying to open a mussel shell (Lots of small mussels growing here , due to no sea star predators :-( ) Maybe he's prying off a limpet from the rock.    And you can see his yellow eye surrounded by red.
But also couldn’t resist the extra shot of the eagle spotted at the neighbors dock during our morning row.  

And I was thinking it was time for my ipad drawing challenge…  well, maybe tomorrow…

Getting ready to leave for Seattle ……

A flickr set for family of the memorial day weekend shots