Eurasian oystercatcher
The avifauna of the national park is comparable with avifaunae of other Wadden Sea regions. With over 10 million birds in spring and autumn the trilateral Wadden Sea accommodates the most birds in Europe. The nutrition-rich area is visited by migratory birds regularly. Due to the ongoing changes in the Wadden Sea the effects of the national park on the avifauna are hard to quantify. From 1994 to 2004 only three bird species (European spoonbill, Great cormorant, common ringed plover) increased in number. In the same period, the stock of 18 other species shrank including barnacle goose, common greenshank, Eurasian curlew, black-headed gull, lesser black-backed gull, Eurasian oystercatcher, pied avocet and dark bellied brent goose.