News
Oystercatcher chick hatches
As found in: The Bocanut TelegraphIsland residents who have been following the ongoing "oystercatcher at the causeway" saga might have noticed that a new baby was hatched on Thursday, July 10. Now the new twist in the plot for rubber-necking nest lookers is the question: Where did they go?
According to Gasparilla Island Bridge Authority Director Jim Cooper, they haven't gone far. The mom, dad and newly-hatched baby bird are now hanging out down by the water, teaching their baby how to fish.
"In the world of American oystercatchers the chicks migrate toward the shore as soon as they're born," he said. "The new site they’ve picked isn't exactly ideal for seeing them, it's down in the rocks."
The new baby oystercatcher was hatched July 10, one of two eggs in the causeway nest. The other egg apparently did not hatch, and Cooper said it has disappeared. He said when he spoke with Florida Wildlife authorities, they said the last few years haven't been good to the species as far as their hatchling survival rate goes, and that there are many animals who prey on the birds. Many predators such as local hawks, ospreys and iguanas are eager to attack. This year Fish and Wildlife said they have lost many hatchling chicks to predators in their first and second weeks after birth.
"It's a dice roll," Cooper said. "That egg is now gone, most likely to an iguana. If you roll a stone in front of an iguana, he'll try and eat it."
Missy Christie, an environmental specialist with Charlotte County, was on the island over the weekend and worked with local ornithologist Nancy Lingeman and others to erect a mesh fence around two sides of the nesting area in an attempt to keep the birds off the road.
The black and white birds with the orange beaks were first spotted two weeks ago by Cooper.