American Avocet are an attractive bird and their method of feeding with that upturned beak is fun to watch. Often they will go back and forth repeatedly in the same area.
On this day they weren’t too interested in showing off themselves or their skills and soon disappeared behind this clump of grass.
American Avocet aren’t the only birds in these images, but I haven’t seen one in awhile so thought I’d give them top billing. And I really like them with their snazzy color scheme.
I sure was hoping they would fly closer to my side of the pond.
Instead they disappeared on the other side of the marsh.
I had to peek between the tall reeds around the pond to get a limited view but it was still fun to watch these American Avocets feed.
Most of what they eat is very small so they have to spend a lot of time at it, methodically working back and forth.
These two made a striking sight across the pond, just standing around in the grass stubble.
A quartet of American Avocets worked their way back and forth in the shallow water, feeding as they went.
The early morning light was behind them creating reflections in the still water.
Avocets eat little bits of things they find probing in the mud, generally unidentifiable bits from the photographer’s vantagepoint.
The sun was up but had ducked behind a cloud that was low on the horizon, creating a milky light. The water was shallow and this American Avocet was among the birds taking advantage of the easy feeding.
I watched a group of American Avocets milling around in a shallow pond, some wading and some flying in small hops following whatever they were feeding on.
American AvocetsTwo did fly by fairly close to me and I hoped they would land for a close up shot, but they kept right on going to the other side of the pond.
American Avocets in FlightAnother group landed a bit closer, then waded out of view.
American Avocets in FlightTaken 2/25/2019
I last saw an Avocet in April and was rather surprised to see a small flock this week. They were feeding in a shallow pond.
They worked back and forth and at one point the sun lit them up.
A couple of them ventured closer to shore as they were preening, taking a break behind two napping Roseate Spoonbills.
On a recent visit to Bear Island Wildlife Management area a few small flocks of American Avocets were feeding in some of the shallow impoundments. The one on the left below with the pretty brown head is displaying breeding colors while the white one on the right is non-breeding.
Several Bald Eagles are nesting in the area and one had just had an unsuccessful dive at the other end of this impoundment. When the Eagle soared over the Avocets took off in a panic.
Once in the air they tried to group together.
The Eagle didn’t pursue them but they didn’t wait around to find out.
Click on any photo for larger view.
