Irony of it all: Rare bird’s nest in Lake Worth complicates... | www.mypalmbeachpost.com

Click title for link to a Palm Beach Post article by Joe Capozzi (click title for link) about the American oystercatchers that have taken up residence around the western end of the Lake Worth bridge. There is a bit of a circular situation here. The oystercatchers were spotted earlier in the already completed, man-made Snook Islands project. There was talk last year of how, due to heavy rains and the incoming fresh water coming from the C-51 canal and other sources, that the oyster habitat was destroyed in the Lake Worth Lagoon. Oysters, it was thought, would take at least three years to regenerate assuming there was no massive influx of fresh water again into the Lagoon's estuarine system.

Without the oysters, it would follow that oystercatchers would have nothing to eat and go elsewhere. Blog reader Mike Lynch took pictures of the birds when they first appeared and sent me this picture which I have previously posted on the blog.

Two American oystercatchers shown on the Snook Island area north of the Lake Worth bridge.

Now comes the pleasant surprise that they have returned to the recently created nesting ground and have even jumped south of the bridge. That is the area that is currently "under construction" to expand the Snook Islands area east of Byrant Park. Two Lake Worth "birders" are featured in the article. Here is what one of them says.

Bulldozers would have continued work this week — and possibly destroyed the nest — if not for Gael Silverblatt, a Lake Worth resident who has been photographing Snook Island oystercatchers on almost daily visits to the north end of the Lake Worth bridge over the past few years.

“I’m just enthralled with them, with their red beaks and black and white feathers, the way they mimic each other,’’ said Silverblatt.

“You know that song ‘Walk Like an Egyptian’? That’s what oystercatchers do. One will face left, and the other will face left. One faces right, the other will face right. They’re so elegant.’’

On March 25, Silverblatt said, she photographed little blue herons on the shoreline just south of the bridge. A week later, she finally looked at the images on her computer and was startled by what she saw in the background of a photo — a female oystercatcher on the unfinished island off Bryant Park.

“I could tell by the way she was positioned, she was sitting on a nest,’’ Silverblatt said.

Silverblatt went back to Bryant Park that day and walked on the bridge for a better
look. “You could see her (the female bird) stand up and reposition the rocks (around the nest) with the male beside her trying to look important,’’ she said.

The irony, of course, is that but for the act of humans in establishing these habitats, we would not be seeing these birds in the first place. And, if you go way back, the lagoon was a fresh water habitat until the later part of the 19th century when the first inlet was cut from the ocean. As an aside, the last sentence above says a lot more about someone's world view, if you think about it, than just observing birds. Just sayin'.

People interested in wildlife, photography and the way wildlife migrates through the state of Florida might be interested in a talk to be given by Carlton Ward. He will be speaking on the Florida wildlife corridor tonight from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Palm Beach Zoo & Conservation Society as part of its Conservation Society lecture series. The cost is $20. For more information on the lecture series, you can call 561 547 9453, extension 285. Click here for an overview of Mr. Ward's work that appears in the April 10 edition of the Shiny Sheet.

And here is the perky, ear worm song by the Bangles referenced in the article: