This afternoon we visited Punta Espinoza on Fernandina Island. We landed on an unpromising lava plain, but soon found ourselves on a richly populated "beach" of iguanas and sea lions. Leaving the lava for the sandy beach, we saw a beautiful bird with a red beak and red eyes. This was the American oystercatcher; she was silhouetted against a dark background, so the photo presented itself. Just seconds later, her mate flew in, and they had a noisy reunion, dancing around each other and clacking their red beaks. A few moments later, she moved away from the point where we had first encountered her and we realized that she was returning to her nest and two eggs. This left us with a question: was the reuniting of the two oystercatchers an affectionate reunion, or were they having a marital conversation about leaving the kids unsupervised?