Audubon Magazine today came out with a great online interview with Anna Weinstein, Audubon California's seabird conservation director, about our recent survey of Black Oystercatchers in California. As you may already know, the survey found more of the birds than we expected to find. As Weinstein notes, we also learned a great deal about the habits of this mysterious species:

Over the course of this project we developed a real sense that this bird is not as much of a victim as the snowy plover or least tern. As western gulls, California gulls, and peregrine falcons increase, we’re seeing real defense on the oystercatchers’ part. Their bright orange beaks are long, they’re a large-bodied bird, and they’re aggressive. They don’t just sit there and let their babies get plucked off. It’s really nice to see because it gives you a sense that as their world changes, they at least have some tools to cope.