Not quite black

Arranged at fairly late notice (two days ago) to have today off so that S and I could come north to meet the builder for the final (hope, hope), repair work after the attack last year by rats. Slightly late (the tide was a bit too far in for seeing many waders) I went down the stairs to Southend and then around the point to Fidelis Beach. On the very exposed foreshore at the point, were a group of oystercatchers, most appearing all black. A few were clearly moulting into the pied morph of the variable oystercatcher.

I'm not so sure about this one. To the naked eye it appeared to be a black morph (Torea pango). However, with the aid of a telphoto lens and then some enlargement, there could be some white on the chest, and the back feathers show a bit of brown or russet.

The whole group lost their tolerance of my presence shortly after this photo and flew away to land on the large flat rocks with many other oystercatchers.