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Tuesday, January 8, 2013

You wanna piece o' me???

This Black Oystercatcher (Haematopus bachmani) really is pretty tough - you've got to be if you're going to make your living eating shellfish and you've got no hands. I took these photos near noon so the morning feeding session was pretty much over and this bird was settling down to do some preening. Otherwise I would have captured some video of how dexterously they unfasten limpets from their rocky beds and pick the meat out of the shells with those big red beaks.

5 comments:

Andy said...

Excellent photos. That colourful beak really stands out.

Stephanie said...

Great shots, I agree with the comment on the beak,the color just pops.

SRQ said...

He does look tough. And, my, what big feet he has! Nice captures.

JoJo said...

Love his beak colour!

William Kendall said...

Terrific shots! He looks fierce!