Why not an American Oystercatcher that came up from Baja California?

Andy Stepniewski
Wapato WA

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> From: Michael Price <mprice at mindlink.bc.ca>
> To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
> Subject: Some Thoughts on Possible American Oystercatcher Sighting
> Date: Sunday, January 25, 1998 9:46 PM
>
> Hi Tweets
>
> This evening, while chewing on the problem of just how to get an American

> Oystercatcher Haematopus palliatus from the Atlantic Coast across the
> continent to the shoreline of Washington State, the question came up for
me:
> what if it's not American Oystercatcher after all, but Eurasian
> Oystercatcher H. ostralegus, "highly migratory" to quote 'Shorebirds'
> (Hayman et al)? It would be the same situation as Long-billed Murrelet
> Brachyramphus perdix but in reverse.
>
> Here's some blue-sky speculation. Let's assume it's a nominate Eurasian
of
> the Western Palearctic race 'ostralegus' and was weather-transported (to
> keep it legit) or wandered across to North America. It has shown some
> propensities for travelling as a vagrant to the NW (Greenland,
> Newfoundland). It heads NW into Arctic Canada, moseys along aross the
> coastline, and upon feeling mighty blasts of frigid air, does whatever
any
> sensible shorebird does, gets the hell S quickly to where the water stays

> open, but also heads W to where it knows the ocean is: if it looks for a
> coast it knows that all it has to do is fly west and eventually it will
pick
> up the entrancing aroma of sun-simmered coconut oil. Well, it will find
the
> coast alright, though in Cascadia, but will have to take a bye on the
> sunbathing for a couple more months.
>
> In case of relocation, how to tell? Basic-plumaged American 'palliatus'
> will have a black back, Eurasian 'ostralegus' white; American underwings
> have dark flight feathers, Eurasian pale; otherwise, according to
> 'Shorebirds', they look pretty much alike.
>
> Michael Price A brave world, Sir,
> Vancouver BC Canada full of religion, knavery and change;
> mprice at mindlink.net we shall shortly see better days.
> Aphra Behn (1640-1689)