On the afternoon of 5 July 1969 I saw a Black Oystercatcher (Haematopus bachmani) flying among the deciduous trees along Bear Creek about two miles east of Shelter Cove, Humboldt County, California. This point is about twenty miles upstream and is at an elevation of about 1400 feet; it is separated from the nearby coast by a ridge with peaks reaching more than 3000 feet. The weather was bright and clear for the week prior to the observation; thus the possibility of the bird having become lost in the usually common coastal fog is unlikely.