rickswan@netcom.ca (Richard Swanston) sent this comment:

Black Oystercatcher

For the last three years a pair have nested on the Tsawwassen Ferry Causeway on a manmade habitat restoration site. In an attempt to create salt marsh habitat and an Eel Grass bed in Delta, B.C. Canada, a rock and gravel dike was created to retain water . While much of this dike or bream has washed away, some of the perimeter remains above the high water mark . On this thin area, approximately 450 Feet from a major highway, the nest sight is open and clear of predators and human disturbance for much of the time. In spite of the pair's novel nest area, three young were fledged last year and an attempt is underway to repeat the same this year (1998). This bird is noted to nest in the B. C. Coast on isolated islands.