{"id":8724,"date":"2013-06-27T03:45:21","date_gmt":"2013-06-27T09:45:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=8724"},"modified":"2025-08-29T05:37:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-29T10:37:09","slug":"adult-american-oystercatcher-among-sea-purslane","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/06\/27\/adult-american-oystercatcher-among-sea-purslane\/","title":{"rendered":"Adult American Oystercatcher Among Sea Purslane"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AdultAdult American Oystercatcher among Sea Purslane – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1\/640, ISO 200, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I like to include habitat in my images when I am able to do so, especially when the habitat doesn’t obstruct the view of my subject or when the habitat helps to define a sense of place.<\/p>\n

I have taken hundreds of images of American Oystercatchers in or near water and that shows only a part of the habitat where these shorebirds can be found, they can also be found among stands of Sea Oats, Spartina or as shown in this image, Sea Purslane.<\/p>\n

I was at Fort De Soto and Egmont Key from before sunrise to well after sunset the day I photographed this American Oystercatcher in late evening light.<\/p>\n

This American Oystercatcher, used to the human foot traffic on the beach, walked right past where I was laying on the sand at the north beach.<\/p>\n

Back then, I was taking a Florida Master Naturalist course and our class met on Egmont Key that day so I thought I might as well photograph at Fort De Soto’s north beach before I hopped onto the ferry to Egmont Key.<\/p>\n

By the time I took the ferry back to Fort De Soto I figured I might as well stay for sunset and see if I could capture the “Green Flash” as the sun set.<\/p>\n

That night I didn’t see the green flash but I was thrilled to be there as the sun dipped below the horizon. I was exhausted, sweaty but very happy to have enjoyed the day so thoroughly.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my American Oystercatcher photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I like to include habitat in my images when I am able to do so, especially when the habitat doesn’t obstruct the view of my subject or when the habitat helps to define a sense of place.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":150489,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,27,25,704],"tags":[4004,3974,4039,14752,173,22,5988,3816,4017,24,3982,274],"class_list":["post-8724","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-american-oystercatchers","category-avian","category-florida","category-fort-de-soto-county-park","tag-adult","tag-american-oystercatcher","tag-beach","tag-coastal-island","tag-gulf-coast","tag-haematopus-palliatus","tag-oystercatcher","tag-oystercatchers","tag-sand","tag-sand-dune","tag-sea-purslane","tag-shorebirds-2"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/american-oystercatcher-habitat-adult-mia-mcpherson-3880.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-2gI","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":142,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2010\/08\/14\/nesting-american-oystercatchers\/","url_meta":{"origin":8724,"position":0},"title":"Nesting American Oystercatchers","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 14, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Nesting American Oystercatchers create simple scrapes on coastal beaches, dunes and salt marshes to lay their eggs in. They usually lay between 2-3 eggs around April to May.","rel":"","context":"In "American Oystercatchers"","block_context":{"text":"American Oystercatchers","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/shorebirds\/american-oystercatchers\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"One Oystercatcher leaving the nest at Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/american-oystercatcher-nesting-florida-mia-mcpherson-2138.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/american-oystercatcher-nesting-florida-mia-mcpherson-2138.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/american-oystercatcher-nesting-florida-mia-mcpherson-2138.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/american-oystercatcher-nesting-florida-mia-mcpherson-2138.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":304,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2010\/08\/19\/small-in-the-frame\/","url_meta":{"origin":8724,"position":1},"title":"Small In The Frame","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 19, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Though I quite often photograph birds so that they are what is labled \"frame filling\" I also like to compose images that show the bird or animals small in the frame.","rel":"","context":"In "American Oystercatchers"","block_context":{"text":"American Oystercatchers","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/shorebirds\/american-oystercatchers\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Brown Pelicans starting to dive, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/brown-pelicans-diving-mia-mcpherson-3719.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/brown-pelicans-diving-mia-mcpherson-3719.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/brown-pelicans-diving-mia-mcpherson-3719.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/brown-pelicans-diving-mia-mcpherson-3719.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4781,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/04\/13\/american-oystercatcher-friday-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":8724,"position":2},"title":"American Oystercatcher – Friday Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 13, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"These two photos are of the same adult American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus) in sequential order taken at Fort De Soto County Park in Florida. I was laying in the sand while I created the images to get a low angle and the bird was on a ridge elevated slightly higher\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "American Oystercatchers"","block_context":{"text":"American Oystercatchers","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/shorebirds\/american-oystercatchers\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"American Oystercatcher on a ridge of sand next to the Gulf of Mexico at Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/american-oystercatcher-mia-mcpherson-5403.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/american-oystercatcher-mia-mcpherson-5403.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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Oystercatchers","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/shorebirds\/american-oystercatchers\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"American Oystercatcher with Pen shell, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/american-oystercatcher-shell-mia-mcpherson-6248.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/american-oystercatcher-shell-mia-mcpherson-6248.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/american-oystercatcher-shell-mia-mcpherson-6248.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/american-oystercatcher-shell-mia-mcpherson-6248.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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2025","format":false,"excerpt":"I am sharing a group of American Oystercatcher photos today that were taken at Fort De Soto County Park and Egmont Key from when I lived in Florida.","rel":"","context":"In "American Oystercatchers"","block_context":{"text":"American Oystercatchers","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/shorebirds\/american-oystercatchers\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"American Oystercatcher feeding in early morning light, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/american-oystercatcher-feeding-adult-mia-mcpherson-6254.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/american-oystercatcher-feeding-adult-mia-mcpherson-6254.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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