Sooty Oystercatchers

On the Big Weekend Jack Winterbottom took a brilliant photo at Bastion Point of a Sooty Oystercatcher giving beak to a polychaete worm.

Every time since, when  we have been to the beach I have watched the Sootys for a repeat performance with no luck.  On Monday 23rd one of the trio was giving a cunjevoi a serious going over.  I suspect the dark tip to the beak was staining from cunjevoi juice.

I couldn't see exactly what this one was probing, but it stayed in position for several minutes so was evidently tasty.

The waves eventually got a bit frisky for rock activities so all three birds moved on to the sand.  They seemed to freeze, with one foot raised and the head cocked to one side, before ramming the beak into the sand.  I presume they were listening for small invertebrates moving around under the surface.  I didn't get a snap of this.