American Oystercatcher/Common Tern joint nest

After looking at that title you probably have no idea what we are talking about. To begin this very strange tale, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Wildlife Biologist Kristina Vagos emailed us the below photo and information.

That is an American Oystercatcher egg on the left, the larger and more lightly colored one, and three Common Tern eggs, darker and smaller, on the right. She told us this was from a weird nest out on Falkner Island. The Common Tern female is actually still incubating this nest! Another American Oystercatcher egg was found nearby, though it had cracked. No one is sure what is going to happen with this nest but USFWS staff is watching it closely. There is a pair of American Oystercatcher on the Island this year, though no one has found a nest of their own.

This has definitely not happened to them before on Falkner Island, but it goes to show you how unpredictable monitoring these coastal waterbirds can be. We will keep you updated on how this turns out.


Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds, Audubon Connecticut and the Connecticut Audubon Society partnering to improve conditions for coastal waterbirds in Connecticut.