Oystercatcher

Listen to example recordings of the main vocalisations of Oystercatcher, provided by xeno-canto contributors.

This species can be found on the following statutory and conservation listings and schedules.

UK Birds of Conservation Concern	Amber listed
Species of European Conservation Concern	Vulnerable
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (global)	Near Threatened
Schedule 1 license required (to disturb)	No
Birds Directive Annex 1	No
Listed on the Annexes of	WBD(II*), Bern(III), Bonn(II), AEWA

Oystercatchers increased along linear waterways between 1974 and about 1986, as the species colonised inland sites across England and Wales (Gibbons et al. 1993). Thereafter, the WBS/WBBS index stabilised and now appears to be in decline, so showing a pattern similar to that in winter abundance (WeBS: Frost et al. 2020). Surveys in England and Wales revealed an increase of 47% in breeding birds in wet meadows between 1982 and 2002 (Wilson et al. 2005). BBS data since 1995, which include birds in a broader range of locations and habitats, show a moderate increase in England but a significant, moderate decline in Scotland. There has been a decline across Europe since 1980 (PECBMS: PECBMS 2020a>).

UK breeding population	-21% decrease (1995–2022)
UK winter population	-21% decrease (1996/97–2021/22)

In winter, Oystercatchers are widely distributed on rocky and estuarine shores, with the largest concentrations forming on the major estuaries. They breed around most of the UK coast and are nearly ubiquitous across the interior of Scotland except for some northwestern upland areas and have recently spread into the interior of northern and eastern England.

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Occupied 10-km squares in UK

No. occupied in breeding season	2026
% occupied in breeding season	67
No. occupied in winter	1734
% occupied in winter	57

European Distribution Map

European Breeding Bird Atlas 2

Breeding Season Habitats

Most frequent in	Estuaries
Also common in	Open Shore

Relative frequency by habitat

Relative occurrence in different habitat types during the breeding season.

Since the 1970s there has been a 28% range expansion in Britain, but little change in Ireland. Gains in Britain are almost exclusively at inland sites.

Oystercatchers are recorded throughout the year but encountered more widely in spring and summer when birds are less confined to the coast.

View a summary of recoveries in the Online Ringing Report.

Foreign locations of birds ringed or recovered in Britain & Ireland

View number ringed each year in the Online Ringing Report

Maximum Age from Ringing	41 years 1 months 5 days (set in 2017)
Typical Lifespan	12 years with breeding typically at 4 year
Adult Survival	0.88
Juvenile Survival	0.39 (to age 5)

Wing Length	Adults	263.4±7.5 | Range 251–275mm, N=8270
	Juveniles	258.2±7 | Range 247-269mm, N=1494
	Males	263.4±6.4 | Range 253–274mm, N=146
	Females	264.3±7.8 | Range 251–278mm, N=177

Body Weight	Adults	546±83.7 | Range 465–640g, N=8253
	Juveniles	496±52 | Range 410–580g, N=1473
	Males	544±51.1 | Range 465–632g, N=147
	Females	549±56.9 | Range 452–657g, N=175

Feather measurements and photos on featherbase

Ring size	F
Field Codes	2-letter: OC | 5-letter code: OYSTE | Euring: 4500

For information in another language (where available) click on a linked name

Causes of change

The main causes of the recent decline are unclear.

Further information on causes of change

The increase in nest failure rates during the 27-day egg stage (25 days for incubation and 2 days for laying) probably results from the spread of the species into less favourable habitats, where nest losses through predation or trampling may be more likely. A 95% decline over 1990-2015 at a study area in Perthshire, Scotland, was attributed to land use and crop type changes (Bell & Calladine 2017). The trend towards earlier laying may be linked to recent climate change (Crick & Sparks 1999).

Information about conservation actions

The causes of the recent decline are unclear and hence conservation requirements are also uncertain. Oystercatchers breed in wetland habitat both along the coast and inland, and therefore actions to improve breeding habitat for other waders may also improve breeding success for Oystercatchers. These could include maintaining and restoring saltmarsh and other wetland habitats, less intensive management of grasslands (including reduced drainage to raise water) and delaying mowing of grasslands in which waders are breeding.

Declines in the Netherlands have been attributed to over-exploitation by shell-fisheries in the Wadden Sea and hence reduced survival during winter (van de Pol et al. 2014). Exploitation of shellfish has also affected some sites in the UK (e.g. Norris et al. 1998; Atkinson et al. 2003), although it is unclear if the UK population declines have been caused by it. However, the majority of the UK breeding population winters around the UK coast, with many estuaries holding protected status as they support nationally and internationally important numbers of Oystercatchers and other wetland species during winter. Appropriate management of shellfish numbers at key wintering sites is therefore likely to be important for this species, along with other policies to ensure these sites continue to be protected and habitat quality maintained or improved (e.g. Goss-Custard et al. (2019).