Oystercatchers in Scilly

​Oystercatchers are my favourite birds to photograph. With their simple yet striking black and white plumage contrasting with their bright orange bill and eyes, they scuttle across the beaches screeching their call at an incredible volume. The Isles of Scilly certainly isn’t short of Oystercatchers, and at all tides you can observe them on the beach. At this time of the year they often will have a juvenile or two with them as they stride across the tide line. Still learning, the young stay close to the parent at all times, observing everything it does from feeding to flying. They are easy to identify as juveniles, with duller/greyer legs, black (as opposed to red) eyes and a black tip to their bill. My favourite time to observe Oystercatchers is when the tide is low in the early evening. This is because the sand is wet enough for them to feed from so they are kept so busy they hardly notice you. As well as this, the low light on a clear day lights them up, accentuating their contrasting colours and creating long shadows on the sand making them even more dramatic. The west-facing beach where I observed them at this time seemed to be the perfect place to watch and take photos until the sun went down.