Saving Chincoteague Oystercatchers

The Chincoteague Oystercatcher Project is a research-driven project aimed at determining causes for the population decline in this threatened species. We are combining high-tech GPS tracking technology with monitoring of breeding activities and foraging behaviors to make management recommendations for how to reverse the decline. We need $10,000 for the GPS trackers.

Learn more about our research at our website.

American Oystercatcher

American Oystercatchers are fellow beachgoers -- shorebirds that breed on beaches along the Atlantic Coast, and are a species of conservation concern. Poor food supply, climate change, rising sea levels, predators, and human disturbance threaten oystercatchers. Virginia has the highest proportion of breeding oystercatchers throughout their range, but the number of chicks fledged on two barrier islands in Chincoteague, VA has declined to an unsustainable level. In 3 out of the last 5 years, 0 chicks fledged on one of the islands. Predator and human disturbance management occurs on Chincoteague, but the population continues to decline. Therefore, other factors like foraging habitat quality could be involved.

Foraging Habitat Quality

Oystercatchers eat bivalves including oysters, mussels, clams and marine invertebrates. Climate change and human activities may be degrading the quality of foraging habitat, and limiting food availability for these birds.

What We Are Doing

We are investigating if foraging habitat quality limits Chincoteague oystercatcher population growth.

To do this, we are planning on attaching GPS data loggers onto oystercatchers. The GPS data loggers will track where and when the birds go to feed, so that we can identify critical feeding habitat, and prioritize it for restoration efforts. We are complementing this data with surveys of oystercatcher foraging behaviors and environmental sampling of factors driving prey distribution.

Learn more about our research at our website.

This is why we need your assistance -- to gain more understanding of where Chincoteague oystercatchers feed and the status of their prey and foraging habitat.

We are fundraising for 10 GPS data loggers to be deployed in the summer of 2023. The GPS data loggers are $1,000 each.

Thank You!

Your donations will directly assist this at-risk population. The GPS data loggers will provide detailed information about foraging habitat use that can be used to prioritize areas for oyster reef restoration. This research will benefit other threatened shorebirds including piping plovers, least terns, black skimmers, and red knots.

Our Team

We are a group of researchers based at Trent University in Ontario, Canada working at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia.