Bird
🐦
🐦
Size
40–45 cm (length)About the size of a small crow
Weight
400–700 gRoughly the weight of a can of soup
Lifespan
Often 12 years (up to 40 recorded)
Rarity
Common
M vs F
Look alike; females tend to have a slightly longer bill
Habitat
Coastlines, estuaries, and increasingly inland by rivers and reservoirs
Best time
Year-round on many coasts; numbers swell in winter with continental visitors
Conservation
UK: Amber
NT
💡 Did you know?
Oystercatchers have a loud, piercing "peep-peep" call that you can often hear before you spot the bird itself!
Despite the name, Oystercatchers rarely eat oysters in the UK — they mainly specialise in mussels and cockles, and individual birds develop either a "hammering" or "stabbing" bill technique to open shells, passed down from their parents.
Often confused with
Avocet (black and white
upturned bill
no orange)
Curlew (brown
long down-curved bill
no bold black/white pattern)
0
Be the first to spot this!