American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus) Working Group Update

There are fewer than 12,000 American Oystercatchers in the United States, and remaining populations face year-round threats from disturbance, development, and predators. The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) recently designated the American Oystercatcher as a keystone species, thereby committing significant funds over the next 10 years to projects that will advance the goals of the conservation “business plan” written for this species.

This November, Alexandra Wilke and Barry Truitt of The Nature Conservancy-Virginia Coast Reserve hosted the 9^th annual meeting of the American Oystercatcher Working Group in Oyster, Virginia (USA). Interest in oystercatcher conservation and research has never been higher, as evidenced by record meeting attendance and lively discussion sessions. The 42 participants came from nearly every state along the U.S. Atlantic Coast, plus Texas, to present research results and discuss the direction of future work. Recent studies and work carried out on the Pacific coast of Mexico were also included in the discussions. The working group’s goals for the meeting included making a candid assessment of the current status of oystercatcher conservation, finding better ways to coordinate research and monitoring, and integrating coastwide results into a framework to provide rapid feedback for conservation actions. Discussions focused on habitat enhancement practices, coordinated field protocols, and the best way to leverage the position of Manomet’s American Oystercatcher Recovery Campaign Coordinator to synthesize the efforts of the working group and make the best use of NFWF's funds.

The working group agreed to adopt standard protocols and reporting metrics so that results will be comparable from year to year across the range of the species. The field trip through the beautiful waterways and bays of The Nature Conservancy’s Virginia Coast Reserve was a highlight for the group, with calm winds and cooperative oystercatcher flocks. Participants left the meeting with a renewed commitment to develop management and conservation practices that will meet their overall goal – to increase the American Oystercatcher population of North America by 30% over the next 10 years.

For more information, contact Shiloh Schulte (sschulte@manomet.org), American Oystercatcher Recovery Campaign Coordinator, Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences.