Eurasian Oystercatchers breed on the islands of Nemunas river
18-05-2020
The project team has installed warning signs and protective shelters for chicks of terns on the islands in Middle Course of Nemunas river. They have observed not only Common and Little terns, but also breeding Eurasian Oystercatchers.
These wonderful birds are rare not only in Lithuania. It is estimated that only 10-30 pairs breed in the country, mainly close to the Curonian Lagoon and in the Lower Course of Nemunas river, sometimes on the islands of big lakes and artificial water reservoirs. It seems that newly established sand island in Nemunas river are appreciated not only by terns, but also by the Eurasian Oystercatchers. The Eurasian Oystercatchers in the Eastern part of Lithuania, in the Dysna river basin, are on the edge of extinction. A few year ago, the LOD in cooperation with the scientists from the Nature Research Centre has performed an assessment of the species. This assessment is based on the IUCN criteria, and the Eurasian Oystercatcher is assigned to the critically endangered (CR) species as facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.
Eurasian Oystercatcher. Photo by Gediminas Petkus
Eurasian Oystercatchers are obvious and noisy plover-like birds, with black and white plumage, red legs and strong broad red bills used for smashing or prising open molluscs such as mussels or for finding earthworms. Despite its name, oysters do not form a large part of its diet. They are very sensitive to any disturbance during the breeding season, unprotected nests are easily accessible for corvids, therefore people should avoid visits to the breeding sites in May and June.
Eurasian Oystercatcher. Photo by Armandas Naudžius
We hope, that warning signs will prevent people from visiting sandy islands of the river. Unfortunately, last year the irresponsible drivers of the quad bikes have destroyed some nests of terns and Eurasian Oystercatcher, therefore we are asking for more respect to the nature.
