2006 Meeting of the American Oystercatcher Working Group
The sixth annual meeting of the Atlantic Coast American Oystercatcher Working group was held 4-5 December 2006 at the Florida Wildlife Research Institute Lab on Cedar Key, FL. Felicia Sanders organized a great meeting. We discussed the status of banding and resighting programs and how to proceed with a preliminary analysis of Oystercatcher movement and dispersal.
The field trip was a success. We took two boats and went to observe a flock of over 500 AMOY roosting on a shell bar west of the town. At the same time Pat and Doris Leary took their boat to another roost of about 150 AMOY. Collectively we resighted 25 banded oystercatchers from every banding location on the East Coast. After the meeting Pat and Doris spent some time counting and resighting AMOY along this stretch of coast. These results reinforce the importance of the Cedar Key area to the entire population of American oystercatchers on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts.
Presentations
- Susan Cameron, NC Wildlife Resources Commission
Update on breeding season monitoring and management efforts - Christy Hand and Patrick Jodice, Dept of Forestry and Natural Resources and USGS coop unit, Clemson University
Foraging ecology of American Oystercatchers in the Cape Romain region during the non-breeding season - Ann Hodgson, Audubon of Florida
American Oystercatcher management in Florida - Pat and Doris Leary
American Oystercatcher in Northeast Florida - Sean Murphy, City University of New York
Investigating the population dynamics of American Oystercatchers on the islands of Massachusetts - Dr. Terry Norton DVM, WCS, St Catherine’s Island Wildlife Survival Center
The American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus): a bioindicator species for assessing ecosystem health along the Georgia and South Carolina coasts and barrier islands (update) - Felicia Sanders, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources
Oystercatcher nesting in South Carolina - Shiloh Schulte and Dr. Ted Simons, USGS Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, North Carolina State University
A demographic model for American Oystercatchers in North Carolina - Janet Thibault and Patrick Jodice, Dept of Forestry and Natural Resources and USGS coop unit, Clemson University
Reproductive success of American Oystercatchers in South Carolina: Sources, Sinks, and Traps - Tom Virzi, Dept of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources, Rutgers University
Evaluating American Oystercatcher productivity: A comparison of nest success estimation methods - Alexandra Wilke, The Nature Conservancy, and Ruth Boettcher, Virginia Dept. of Game and Inland Fisheries
American Oystercatchers in Virginia – 2006 summary
Photo Gallery
