2017 Meeting of the American Oystercatcher Working Group
The American Oystercatcher Working Group held its 17th annual meeting on Sapelo Island, Georgia! This large barrier island is located mid-way between Savannah GA and Jacksonville FL with a rich history, boasting the extant Geechee community of Hog Hammock, and the historic Reynolds Mansion operated by Georgia State Parks. In addition to learning about new oystercatcher research, the working group enjoyed a traditional low country boil dinner, bonfire on the beach, bird watching in the Altmaha Sound, and tour of the eccentric Reynolds mansion. Abby Sterling also led us on a late night search for the infamous Chacalacas. We never did find any (they’re not nocturnal), but we had a good time in any event and heard some other curious evening sounds…
Thank you to Tim Keyes and his crew for a fantastic meeting!
A more detailed account of the meeting from one of our top American Oystercatcher band reporters, Diana Churchill, can be found here.
Meeting Documents
Presentations
- Aerial surveys – Shiloh Schulte
- American Oystercatcher Recovery Initiative – Shiloh Schulte
- AMOY band database – Lindsay Addison
- Causes of nest loss in American Oystercatchers: an analysis of video-monitored nests – Ted Simons
- Are American Oystercatchers a good umbrella species for Wilson’s Plover? – Abby Sterling
- Integrating mark-resight, census, and photograph data to more effectively monitor non-breeding American Oystercatcher populations – Dan Gibson
- Nanotagging and MOTUS tracking of oystercatchers on the Texas coast – Sue Heath
- Results and output from 2016 future priorities exercise – presentation and discussion – Alex Wilke and Todd Pover
- Central American Oystercatcher migration – Lindsay Addison and Shiloh Schulte
State Updates
- Massachusetts – Shiloh Schulte presented for Kathy Parsons
- Connecticut – Beth Amendola
- New Jersey – Todd Pover
- Virginia – Alex Wilke
- North Carolina – Sara Schweitzer
- Florida -Joe Marchionno
- Texas – Sue Heath
Photo Gallery
