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The rise of the urban falcon

10,000 Birds

Not only do the falcons help disperse the unwelcome Feral Pigeons, they also attract visitors. Peregrines don’t build nests of their own, but do like to make a scrape in which they can lay their eggs. They sometimes attempt to nest on unsuitably flat ledges, with the inevitable result that their eggs roll off.

Falcons 246
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Pied Oystercatcher breeding season is here again!

10,000 Birds

Well, not quite like clockwork, because this year one pair of Pied Oystercatchers on Cable Beach laid their first clutch of eggs a bit earlier than normal. This year the first clutch was laid at the end of May and this is the first time we have had eggs laid in May along Cable Beach since 2000. Pied Oystercatchers feeding alone.

Breeding 264
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Count Your Chickens (In the Florida Keys)

10,000 Birds

When we eat eggs we eat chicken eggs almost exclusively. But as of right now there is nowhere in the United States where a birder can see a chicken and count it on his or her list despite the fact that there is a well established and long lasting Feral Chicken population in the Florida Keys.

Chickens 242
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Pied Oystercatchers and Sand Goannas

10,000 Birds

We have often suspected that the Sand Goannas would steal eggs as a food source from the Pied Oystercatcher nests if they found them. The two pairs should have been close to hatching their eggs from their first clutch. The pair of Pied Oystercatchers to the north have now laid a second clutch of two more eggs.

Eggs 264
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The first Pied Oystercatcher chick of 2020

10,000 Birds

Our first Pied Oystercatcher eggs for this year’s breeding season were laid early and were due to hatch last weekend. This pair of Pied Oystercatchers never seems to have a problem with incubating their eggs. They take it in turns over the twenty eight days sitting or hovering over the eggs. Pied Oystercatcher and chick.

2020 223
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The predictability of Pied Oystercatchers

10,000 Birds

Feral cats are a huge problem in Australia and they do take a lot of the eggs. There are four pairs with eggs currently after the first pair lost their eggs, which they laid in the same location as last year. This pair laid a white egg last year on their second attempt in the exact same nest.

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Pied Oystercatcher nesting

10,000 Birds

To the north they are very unlucky with predation before the eggs even hatch out, but to the south the eggs hatch out and then the predation occurs on the chicks. The main problem appears to be feral cats, but there is also predation from birds of prey and the parent Pied Oystercatchers do their utmost to protect their young.