I’m in South Africa for a few days (so, not in Australia!). This morning I went for a walk along the beach at Melkbosstrand, which is on the west coast of Africa, about half an hour’s drive north of Cape Town.

Four African Oystercatchers roamed the beach. One of the birds was alone, patrolling the rocks for mussels and other shellfish:

African Oystercatchers, also called African Black Oystercatchers, are considered a threatened species. There are about 6,000 adult birds in the wild. Here’s a photo of the same bird:

Zooming out a bit to see more of the bird’s environment:

Further along the beach was a trio of Oystercatchers:

When I zoomed in on the birds, I noticed that they seemed rather solicitous about a specific patch of seaweed on the beach. I zoomed the camera in to the seaweed and spotted what I thought must be an Oystercatcher chick using the seaweed for shelter:

Update on 8 November 2022: Thank you to my friend Hamish Robertson who identified the little bird as an adult White-fronted Plover!

Here are two of the Oystercatchers with the Plover:

What’s the view like from the beach at Melkbosstrand? Looking one way, you have a view of Table Mountain:

Turning round, you have a view of Koeberg nuclear power station in the distance:

Here’s a zoomed in view of Koeberg:

I hope you’re enjoying my brief foray into South African birds. I’ll be back when I spot another bird!