The beloved beach bird that was almost lost is making an incredible comeback

On a sunny Rhode Island beach, a group of scientists chased two small birds across the sand. The birds were American oystercatcher chicks, and they were fast. The scientists needed to catch them, measure them, and put colored bands on their legs. This work is part of a big effort across the United States to help save a shorebird that once came close to disappearing forever.

The American oystercatcher is easy to spot. It has long legs, a bright orange bill, and bold black-and-white feathers. For a long time, though, this bird was in serious trouble. Hunters and egg collectors nearly wiped it out along the New England coast. Over many years, people worked hard to bring the bird back from the edge.

That effort has paid off in a big way. Between 2008 and 2023, oystercatcher populations grew by 45% along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. That is a huge jump, especially because most other shorebirds in North America are still declining. More than 35 organizations in 16 states worked together, spending about $10 million on the project. "It's amazing and it's a great conservation success story," said Maureen Durkin, a federal wildlife biologist who led the banding effort in Rhode Island.

Scientists figured out that the biggest problem was that too few chicks were surviving. In different places, different things threatened the birds. At one beach, too many people walking near nests scared parents away. At another spot, foxes or raccoons were eating the eggs. In some low-lying areas, rising seas flooded nests before the eggs could hatch.

Across the East Coast, groups put up fences around nesting areas to keep out predators. They also put up signs to teach beachgoers how to protect the birds. In some spots, cars and dogs were kept away from places where the birds were raising chicks. On Martha's Vineyard, predator fencing helped push the number of breeding pairs up by 77% since 2009. In North Carolina, breeding pairs grew nearly 20%, reaching 403 pairs.

Scientists also found that oystercatchers are surprisingly adaptable. Some pairs have even built nests on rooftops in the United States. Related species in Europe have nested in farm fields and at a bus station in Iceland. "What we found is that these birds are incredibly adaptive," said Ted Simons, a retired professor from North Carolina State University. That flexibility has helped the birds find new places to raise their families even as coastlines change.

Much of this success was shaped by the American Oystercatcher Working Group, which created local plans for teams all along the East Coast. The group was led by a biologist named Shiloh Schulte. Schulte died last year in a helicopter crash in Alaska while doing fieldwork to protect shorebirds. His work lives on in the thousands of birds that now nest safely because of those plans.

Even with all this good news, experts warn the birds still face serious dangers. Climate change is causing sea levels to rise and storms to grow stronger. Those changes eat away at beaches and wash out nests. Some states, like Georgia, are building raised nesting platforms and creating new islands using dredged sand to replace lost habitat.

Conservation groups are also worried about changes to the Endangered Species Act. New rules could make it easier for builders to damage important habitat, even if no animals are directly harmed right away. Environmental groups filed a lawsuit to fight these changes. "It's a direct attack on the protections that have allowed many of these shorebird species to recover," said Alan Kneidel, a senior conservation biologist. The fight to keep the oystercatcher safe is far from over.