Oystercatcher

A brooding Oystercatcher.

The Oystercatcher is the fjord´s most numerous breeding wader and it is found on practically all the islands in the fjord.


An Oystercatcher chick.

The nests are usually sited near to the shore but may also be found further inland.


Oystercatchers, with the old shell factory in the background.

Each pair has its own territorial stretch of coast and the number of pairs of Oystercatchers on an island depends directly on the length of the coast. Therefore the biggest populations are found on the biggest islands.

Eskilsø has however had almost no breeding Oystercatchers since 1996 because of foxes. The decline in the total population on Roskilde Fjord is due mainly to the decline on Eskilsø, which had the biggest colony.

There are very few Oystercatchers in the autumn counts, and none in the winter counts.




Key to the Distribution Map.

Oystercatcher - population trends