The African Black Oystercatcher is a resident breeder on the rocky coasts and islands of southern Africa. Sadly, there are currently less than 9,000 adult birds of this species, so it is highly endangered. However, it is easy to spot along the coasts of South Africa.

I was lucky to get so close to an adult couple and took quite a few shots of them in De Hoop Nature Reserve. This shot is my favourite. I simply love the contrast between the red of the bill and eye, the black of the plumage and the blue of the ocean.

Canon EOS 40D, Canon 70-200mm f/4, ISO 100, 1/800 sec., 200mm, f/6.3. Post-processing in Adobe Lightroom 2, finishing touches in Adobe Photoshop CS4.