Hide-and-Seek with Black Oystercatchers

A Black Oystercatcher (Haematopus bachmani) chick hides in a rock crevice on one of the Shakun Islets of Katmai National Park and Preserve. Unlike their name suggests, Black Oystercatchers rarely consume oysters, but rather intertidal marine invertebrates such as limpets, whelks and chitons, as well as crabs, sea urchins, barnacles, and isopods. Each year, scientists monitor Black Oystercatcher populations in the Gulf of Alaska region to better understand long-term productivity trends.