At the end of May a pair of American Oystercatchers was well into incubating a nest at the bay side edge of the marsh north of High Pines when astronomical high tides combined with a storm washed it out the last week of the month. The pair was not reported after June 6... until today (June 19).

The absence may be simply due to light coverage &/or poor luck during the interval, or it could be that the birds have been in the off-limits area of High Pines (roped off for the Piping Plovers), or they may have been checking out other areas including Plymouth Beach. It's always possible, though unlikely, that this could be a completely different pair. In any event, the Mass Audubon field observers will be checking on them to see if a new nest is attempted. The next big tide (12.8 ft) comes at 1:00am on Tuesday 6/25, but 12+ft tides start on Friday. Hopefully if they do try a new nest, they'll either wait a few days or else locate it above the anticipated high water mark - and we'll have a first ever recorded nesting success for Duxbury Beach.