South Island Pied Oystercatcher on North Stradbroke Island

The South Island Pied Oystercatcher (SIPO), endemic to New Zealand, is a rare but increasingly reported visitor to Australian shores. Yesterday I finally caught up with a bird on the foreshore at Dunwich on North Stradbroke island which was first reported by Andy Jensen on May 29. It later emerged that the bird was first photographed there on March 8 this year.

A flock of pied oystercatchers appears to gather on the beach at high tide 200m north of the One Mile Jetty, where the Stradbroke Flyer passenger ferry operates to and from Cleveland on the mainland. I arrived at the spot yesterday morning two hours before a 1.8m high tide. Several observers had reported that an incoming tide was the best time to see the SIPO. There were about 40 Australian Pied Oystercatchers there when I arrived but no sign of the SIPO.

The SIPO has a foot missing but so have a couple of Australian Pied Oystercatchers. A SIPO with a similarly missing foot that was seen in Woy Woy, NSW, last October may be the same bird. In that case, this NZ visitor has been roaming over at least 850km of the east Australian coast for eight months or more. At Dunwich, small groups of oystercatchers were flying in and after about half an hour, the SIPO finally appeared. It stands out among the Australian Pied Oystercatchers with its much shorter legs, appearing markedly dumpier and smaller. In the first image above, the SIPO is on the left. The SIPO's long, narrow bill is another good feature when the two species are seen together. In flight, the larger white wing bar and extended white rump on the SIPO (compared to Australian Pied Oystercatcher) was evident.

The birds are quite approachable. When I left after an hour, the tide was in and 95 oystercatchers were gathered on the beach. Interestingly, I saw the SIPO being chased by Australian Pied Oystercatchers on several occasions. This was the 650th species of bird that I have photographed in Australia. A dropby at the nearby cemetery revealed a pair of Bush Stone-Curlews at a grave.