Klick Kit

By GM4EMX

An Oystercatcher and What Please?

Down at the Don Mouth in Aberdeen today as yes, the sun was out t a rare occasion of late.

I’m not good with Bird recognition, so I hope I am nearly right. I got it wrong with the type of Swan last week.

I believe the one on the left is an oystercatcher, which is a large, stocky, black and white wading bird. It has a long, orange-red bill and reddish-pink legs. In flight, it shows a wide white wing-stripe, a black tail, and a white rump that extends as a 'V' between the wings. Because it eats cockles, the population is vulnerable if cockle beds are overexploited. Breeds on almost all UK coasts; over the last 50 years, more birds have started breeding inland. Most UK birds spend the winter on the coast; where they are joined on the east coast by birds from Norway.

Is the one on the right a Redshank?

If so the Redshank’s breed in damp places like saltmarshes, flood meadows and around lakes, but during winter you'll see lots more of them on estuaries and coastal lagoons – as many as half of these birds may be from Iceland. The greatest concentrations of breeding birds are in parts of Scotland and north-west England.

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