"A coalition of nonprofit and government agencies have found ways to protect and increase the American oystercatcher population."
"Fifteen years of coordinated conservation efforts have produced a significant recovery in the U.S. population of the American oystercatcher, a bird with a distinctive bright red bill that breeds and roosts on beaches and coastal marshes, at a time when most shorebirds are declining.
The American Oystercatcher Recovery Campaign, a coalition of about 40 conservation private nonprofits and government agencies across the United States, reported a 45 percent increase in the number of oystercatchers from 2008 to 2023, bringing the total population to an estimated 14,735 birds.
Before the campaign, oystercatcher numbers were declining amid commercial development of Atlantic and Gulf beaches and as nesting areas were disturbed by car traffic and, in some cases, dogs roaming off leash.
The gain reflects a successful effort to restrict public access to some beaches and marshes at breeding times and to convince beachgoers to respect the birds’ habitat. The bird’s numbers are counted in part by trained observers flying over wintering flocks in a light plane, taking photographs and physically counting the birds. Those estimates are checked against counts made by campaign members who observe the birds on the ground or from boats."
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