It’s nesting time for many birds, but two oystercatchers have picked some unusual spots to try and rear a brood.
On the one hand, there is the one at Kilgraston School at Bridge of Earn, which has returned to make a nest beside the junior school.
Staff put up a square of cones to mark the spot and pupils have been passing by carefully so as not to disturb the mother bird.
Oystercatchers nest in the same place year after year and this is believed to be the same bird that happily nested on the gravel there in 2018.
Another makes a less secure picture, nesting in the car park at Murray Royal Hospital in Perth.
Conservationist David Wood discovered it had made its nest on the edge of the busy car park - a long way from the traditional nesting choice of this species in loose stones by the side of rivers and marsh land.
“This is really disturbing,” commented David. “Oyster catchers come back to the same nesting area year after year no matter their success. This one is at Murray Royal Hospital which was a field a few years ago and probably where it made its first ever nest and reared its chicks.
“It’s now having to make the best of a bad job sitting here on its eggs.
“And the main reason they nest in places like this is a scarcity of their natural habitat.
“In this instance at Murray Royal, it used to be natural wild habitat before the bulldozers, cement and tarmac took it over.
“The oystercatchers were there first. Mankind in his wisdom once again.”
