WHITE OYSTERCATCHER IN COLVILLE BAY.

White birds of any species are quite a rarity. It was a real thrill to see this individual on the mudflats at Colville.
In the summer the only oystercatchers you are likely to see on Coromandel beaches are the Variable Oystercatcher.

 Variable because they range from pure black, to having differing amounts of white on their bodies. They breed with us and can be extremely aggressive when protecting their eggs or offspring.
As the season moves toward autumn they are joined by flocks of the Southern Pied Oystercatcher.

These breed down south but many of them winter in the north in areas like Colville and the Firth of Thames. Unlike the Variable Oystercatcher they are definitely pied, with the white on their chest extending onto the shoulder above the wing.
The species of the white bird is a bit of a mystery as it cannot be identified by its colouration. In Colville it was keeping company with S.I.Pied Oystercatchers. That seems to be a fair indication. Strangely though. another, or perhaps the same white bird,was seen, in mid March, on an Auckland mudflat. This time with a number of black Variable Oystercatchers.