Oystercatcher Day Has Officially Launched

Oystercatchers have stayed with me since I first started birding. Their calls, colours, and presence along tidal flats and coastlines became inseparable from how I experienced shorebirds and coastal habitats as a whole.

Today, I am proud to officially launch Oystercatcher Day — a new international awareness initiative dedicated not only to the oystercatcher family, but also to the wider conservation of beach-nesting birds and the fragile coastal environments they depend upon.

The idea grew from a simple recognition that many of these birds continue to breed in increasingly busy and disturbed landscapes. Some nest among dunes, shell banks, tidal islands, saltmarshes, or open beaches shared closely with people. Their future depends not only on protected areas, but also on awareness, coexistence, and long-term attention.

Oystercatcher Day will be observed annually on 9 June, when many Northern Hemisphere populations are actively nesting, while several Southern Hemisphere species are beginning to move toward the breeding season.

The official introduction page, media package, and launch materials are now live through the World Shorebirds Day portal.