I was actually out looking for a second view of a Little Ringed Plover, which are rare in Cumbria but I’d seen one the previous evening. I couldn’t find it but then spotted an Oystercatcher bathing at the edge of the pond. The other of the pair had gone onto the bank and was shaking off the wet but this one stayed behind on the water and I saw something that I’ve never seen before.
The Oystercatcher was lying on its back in the water, its head totally submerged apart from its long orange-red bill. I did not succeed in getting a shot that time but very quickly after coming up from its dip it was back down again and this time I was ready with the camera.
It may be my limited experience but only once before have I seen a bird deliberately lying on its back in the water. That was a Great Black-backed Gull on the nearby Derwent estuary two or three years ago (a far distance shot taken with a 300 mm zoom; image processed with Topaz).
But to return to yesterday’s bathing Oystercatcher …
A second or so later it was up again and shaking off the water before having a short swim to relax.
Did I say “a short swim”? It was very short! I’ve just checked the times on my photos. I’d forgotten that this sequence of images was a rat-a-tat-a-tat burst. The first image above was at 16:25 and 22 seconds. The next image below was at 16:25:23! In other words this cycle of dip,shake,swim, dip again happened within 1 to 2 seconds. Not much of a leisurely swim!
Oystercatcher bathing continues
I watched for a while. Up it came again, and this time didn’t re-immerse quite so quickly.
I wasn’t long, though before the cycle was repeated, over and over again, sometimes very quickly, and sometimes at a more relaxed pace. Then for a change it decided to have a good splash with its wings beating the water. This is how I’ve previous seen Oystercatchers and other birds play in the water.
And so it continued. I watched for a while longer before moving on, and as I left it was down, head under water, once again. A fascinating few minutes to relieve the disappointment at not succeeding with my original search.
