CHARADRIIFORMES: Haematopodidae
Haematopus longirostris
The march of the pied oystercatchers. "Keep in line there!"
I was at Point Halloran looking to see if the South Island Pied Oystercatcher was still around.
One had been reported a month earlier and there had been follow up reports for about a week or so but unfortunately nothing for a couple of weeks.
I guess there were about fifty Australian Pied Oystercatchers there, all moving around, which made trying to find a very looking similar SIPO a little difficult. In any case, if it was there, I failed.
While the day was yet young and the low light behind the oystercatchers made viewing challenging, they all decided to go elsewhere and flew off northwards.