Inland nesting of Oystercatchers ??

[Hobjob]

I saw two oystercathers mating about three miles from Aviemore, in the highlands.

Several other oystercatchers around too.

Is this normal?
How far inland do they nest?

[mrs fish]

Are they near a river ?

I have been watching a pair feed on wet grassland just lately, I know they nested nearby last year and seem to be back again but they have the rivers close by tidal and fresh

[Hobjob]

Originally Posted by mrs fish

Are they near a river ?

Everywhere is near a river in Scotland

But, the Spey runs through that area, but its so full at the
moment there would be relatively little feeding opportunity
on the river bank.

[John]

Hi David

Well you know how far inland I live and we have the occasional Oystercatcher that breed here, and you can't get more inland than the centre of England.

John

[mrs fish]

My book says they breed inland in the northern part of the uk not so much in the south.

[RobSutton]

Here in the Yorkshire Dales we get them trying to breed on the tops of dry stone walls miles from any water - all they seem to need is damp grassland to probe for food in and we do damp pretty well up here!

[AndyC]

Originally Posted by mrs fish

My book says they breed inland in the northern part of the uk not so much in the south.

This was something that surprised me the first time I visited Scotland, here in the south I almost never see them away from the coast but up there they turn up everywhere.
Why do they often nest on the dry gravels next to rivers where the eggs must be very vunerable to sudden spates, hardly rare events in Scotland

Andy

[rossy]

yes oystercatchers do nest inland normally near resevoirs or lodges. i have actually seen them nest on chalet roofs at pontins in blackpool and on top of hotels as well and one pair nested at the side of a railway line. airfields are another place they can be found. rossy.

[ron1863]

We have several pairs in our area but I hae no idea where or if they are breeding here. We live about 20 miles from the sea - as the Crow flies

[valleyforge]

Oystercatchers breed annually on arable farmland margins just across the valley from our refuge ... we are about 40 miles from the coast close to the Cairngorm National Park.

They feed year-round in the grass or barley fields, and can be heard calling noisily into the wee small hours, especially in early spring.

On a main road heading west from Aberdeen, a pair have successfully reared a brood in the centre of a grassy traffic roundabout, in full view of busy commuter traffic, for the past few years ... causing great concern each year when they have to lead the chicks into the safety of nearby fields.