2021 Meeting is Virtual and Registration is Open!
The annual Working Group meeting for the 2021 season will be held on Zoom Nov. 30-Dec. 3, 2021, 9am-1 pm EST daily. Check out the meeting’s page for more information or follow this link to register.
2020 (ish) Meeting of the American Oystercatcher Working Group
The annual Working Group meeting for the 2020 field season will be (like everything else) held virtually February 2-5, 2021, 9am-12pm EST daily. While we cannot meet in person, we are grateful that the remote meeting will allow for more people to engage in this year’s meeting. We look forward to seeing your faces and hearing your voices over Zoom!
Topics and discussion will be relevant to site managers, field biologists and technicians, researchers, students, individuals working on habitat restoration and enhancement, and shorebird volunteers and enthusiasts. We hope that the remote format will allow for broad attendance and participation around the range.
More information and instruction for meeting registration can be found here.
Registration is Open for the 2018 Meeting!
The AMOY Working Group will hold its 18th annual meeting in Grand Isle, Louisiana. Grand Isle, the only inhabited barrier island in the state, survived Katrina and Rita in 2005 and the BP Oil Spill in 2010. It’s also a tremendous place to observe bird migration, with a beautiful tract of remnant oak/hackberry forest. Today, the island is home to around 1,500 locals, who make a living from the seafood and oil industries. More than 12,000 tourists visit the island annually to participate in fishing rodeos and enjoy the wide-open beaches and countless bird sightings.
The meeting will take place Nov. 5-8 at the LDWF Grand Isle Fisheries Research Lab
QUICK REFERENCE LINKS:
Registration is Open for the 2017 Meeting!!!
The American Oystercatcher Working Group will hold its 17th annual meeting on Sapelo Island, Georgia! This large barrier island is located mid-way between Savannah GA and Jacksonville FL. There is a ferry to get us to the island where we will meet at facilities operated by the University of Georgia Marine Institute. The island is a wonderful place with a rich history, boasting the extant Geechee community of Hog Hammock, an historic mansion operated by Georgia State Parks, and much more!
Follow this link to learn more about the meeting and to register!
American Oystercatcher Special Issue Released by Waterbirds!
The American Oystercatcher Special Issue of Waterbirds is finally here!!! This Special Issue of the journal contains articles published from work that was presented at the Waterbird Society Meeting’s Oystercatcher Symposium in 2015. Many thanks to all of the contributors and especially to our editors from the AMOY Working Group: Pam Denmon, Felcia Sanders, and Ted Simons, and Waterbirds editor: Stephanie Jones for all of their hard work!
Click the image below to view the issue on BioOne.
Following oystercatchers with the working group
What do American Oystercatcher managers and scientists do for fun when they get together? Look for banded American Oystercatchers of course! In November, this year’s working group meeting in Wachapreague, Virginia, members came across a juvenile that had been banded in New York this summer (Orange YCK). She’ll face a lot of challenges before she becomes a breeding adult, but we’re glad she’s made it this far! Additionally, we found Black P7, an adult that was originally banded in the very same lagoon in which we spotted him in 2010. He’s never been spotted further south than Charleston, SC and has been repeatedly spotted in the same area of Virginia into late fall. This pattern is typical of oystercatchers on the East Coast of the United States, with those individuals originally hatched in areas further north head south during the winter, while some of those from further south stay close to home all year.
Have you seen a banded American Oystercatcher? Report it here!
Orange YCK
Black P7
Registration for the 2016 Meeting of the Working Group is Now OPEN!!!
Registration for the 2016 Annual Working Group Meeting in Wachapreague, Virginia (November 15-17) is now open.
This year’s meeting will be held in Wachapreague, Virginia at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science Eastern Shore Lab’s Seaside Hall. The meeting will be two full days, with a half-day field trip. It will begin at approximately 8:00 am on Tuesday November 15th and adjourn at around 1:00 pm after the field trip on Thursday November 17th.
Click HERE for more details about the meeting and to register.
Please REGISTER BY OCTOBER 28TH.
Live Video of Nest in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina
South Carolina Department of Natural Resources partnered with Coastal Conservation League and others to put a video camera on a seabird colony in Charleston Harbor. Hundreds of brown pelicans, royal terns, sandwich terns and some black skimmers nest on Crab Bank. There is an American Oystercatcher nest in the bottom left corner of the live feed. Two video cameras are pointed in opposite directions and the view switches every 15 min. Two hours of video are saved so you can go backwards in time by moving the red dot to the left (to find the view with the oystercatcher nest). Enjoy!
SAVE THE DATE!
The 2016 AMOY Working Group Meeting will be held November 15th – 17th in Wachapreague, Virginia. The agenda will consist of two full meeting days (15th and 16th) and a half day field trip on the 17th. More details to come. The local organizing committee is excited to have everyone here this year! If you have any questions about the meeting that will benefit the entire group, please send them via the list-serve. Any other questions, don’t hesitate to ask us off-line. Many thanks!
Alex Wilke
Ruth Boettcher
Pam Denmon
Jeremy Tarwater
Zak Poulton
Red(AE) Nesting in Florida
Danny Sauvageau took this photo of “AE” taking a drink of water on Outback Key near Ft Desoto on June 2, 2016 after discovering the oystercatcher with an active nest.
More information about Florida’s oystercatcher research and monitoring program can be found here.