American Oystercatcher
American Oystercatcher has increased: up 26% on the route-weighted index since 1974.
About the American Oystercatcher
The American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus) is a North American member of the Oystercatchers (Haematopodidae). In this analysis it is grouped with the shorebirds.
- Size
- 15.5–17.5 in long (40–45 cm) — a large, heavy-billed shorebird (typical for the family)
- Habitat
- Shorelines, mudflats, beaches, flooded fields and wet meadows.
- Diet
- Invertebrates probed or picked from mud, sand and shallow water.
- Range
- Recorded on 25 Breeding Bird Survey routes across 12 states, most concentrated in the Southeastern Coastal Plain.
- Family
- Haematopodidae · Shorebirds
Notable American Oystercatcher Trends
No notable trend signals for American Oystercatcher. See the full index history below.
American Oystercatcher Population Forecast
If the recent trend holds, American Oystercatcher is projected to stay roughly flat through 2029, near 0.01 (95% range 0.00–0.01). A 5-year backtest shows a typical error of ±299.1%, with 100% of held-out values landing inside the 95% band.
| Year | Projected index | 95% low | 95% high |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 0.01 | 0.00 | 0.01 |
| 2026 | 0.01 | 0.00 | 0.01 |
| 2027 | 0.01 | 0.00 | 0.01 |
| 2028 | 0.01 | 0.00 | 0.01 |
| 2029 | 0.01 | 0.00 | 0.01 |
Where the American Oystercatcher Is Detected
BBS routes recording American Oystercatcher, sized by most recent count.
American Oystercatcher Population Trend by State
| Alabama | insufficient data | n/a | 2 |
| Delaware | insufficient data | n/a | 1 |
| Florida | -85% | 1997 | 6 |
| Louisiana | insufficient data | n/a | 1 |
| Massachusetts | insufficient data | n/a | 2 |
| New Jersey | insufficient data | n/a | 1 |
| New York | insufficient data | n/a | 1 |
| North Carolina | -76% | 1974 | 4 |
| Rhode Island | insufficient data | n/a | 1 |
| South Carolina | insufficient data | n/a | 1 |
| Texas | -65% | 2000 | 4 |
| Virginia | insufficient data | n/a | 1 |
American Oystercatcher Population Trend by Region
Bird Conservation Regions are the ecological unit for trends.
| Southeastern Coastal Plain | -66% | 1974 | 11 |
| New England / Mid-Atlantic Coast | -21% | 1983 | 7 |
| Gulf Coastal Prairie | -55% | 2000 | 5 |
American Oystercatcher Conservation Status
Our route-weighted index shows it up about 26% since 1974. Many shorebirds have declined steeply, reflecting pressure on the coastal and wetland stopovers they depend on.
Source: USGS North American Breeding Bird Survey, retrieved 2026-05-22. Trend is a route-weighted relative-abundance index, not an absolute population.