Paul and I were struggling to identify a bird in Flora Field on Sunday evening. It was down on the ground on the Aldcliffe Road side and we wondered whether it was on a nest. It was about a third of the way down the hill from Pony Wood, and slightly towards the north end of the wood. The easiest guide to its location is that it was just to the left of a rectangle of bare earth. (Assuming, of course, that it is still there!)
Long straight beak (red?), dark head and then quite a bit of visible white. We wondered whether it was the mate to the oystercatcher that was wandering around, but it seemed to have too much white.
Anyone else seen it?
Hi – you’re right, it is an oystercatcher. This pair are frequently in the area you mention and I have seen one of the birds sitting in the same spot on several occasions. I too came to the conclusion that they’re probably on eggs. Let’s hope that they get some young off the nest!
We saw the same on Tuesday evening but this time one oyster catcher was apparently sitting on eggs but lower down the field quite close to the Howson’s gate – the other probing the soil near to Aldcliffe Rd but towards the other boundary. When I looked them up I thought they looked more like juveniles but I find that sot of distinction quite difficult.