African Oystercather resighting
Janine Dunlop(2023-02-22)
Discover Eden posted this announcement to our Facebook group:
Check out this awesome resighting of one of our African Oystercatchers! Our Conservation Director, Mark Brown ringed this individual near the Keurbooms River mouth as a chick on 16th December 2012. There are no sightings of this bird recorded until just the other day when on 17 January 2023, Andrew & Sandy Siebörger photographed it with its breeding partner and two chicks just south of the caravan park in Jeffrey's Bay! Truus Hedding contacted Safring who processed the data. We absolutely LOVE African Oystercatchers, and this resighting shows the value of the ongoing bird ringing (banding) work that we do.
This is not the oldest oyk of ours - we have had a few around 20 years old, with the species record being around 30 years, but it is our first movement to Jeffrey's Bay. We have had movements between Knysna and Plett a few times, mostly chicks ringed in Knysna breeding in Plett as adults), and one nice movement of a Knysna born chick, that bred in Plett for a few years before being seen in Boggomsbaai, near Vleesbaai - a similar distance from Plett to JBay.
Keep an eye out for ringed birds and take some pics - you never know - you might be able to help with our next exciting story!"
