It was such a  treat to see two American Oystercatchers at Hemenway Landing yesterday afternoon. We had never seen them there before and these were the first ones we’ve seen this season. They are such a distinctive bird with their black hood, yellow eyes  and long, bright orange, needle-shaped bill. (Click on blog link for other photos.)

We watched for a while as they dug around in the sand for “oysters” and other mollusks. They used their bill as a little jackhammer to dig up the sand and then open the mollusks, which you can see in the 2nd and 3rd photographs. They were pretty far away but it was really fun to watch!

Have you ever seen an Oystercatcher? Such a cool shorebird!