recurvirostra americana

Now in breeding plumage showing rich cinnamon color to the head and neck. They usually forage by scything, sweeping their upcurved bill from side to side in the shallow water. However as seen here, they also find food on the bottom by dipping their whole head under the water. Females have the...

These long-legged waders are surprisingly good swimmers. Their feet are partly webbed and they can paddle in a sitting position with tail held up as seen here. These birds are In winter plumage showing a gray wash on their head and neck.

These birds were flushed by some kid. Have every noticed if a boy see a bird he will always pick up a rock or stick and throw it at them. Must be an instinct carried over from the days when we had to hunt for dinner and lived in a cave. Of course I never did anything like that.

We had quite a fallout of birds on my favorite lake yesterday. There were Avocets, Willets, Spotted Sandpipers and Semipalmated Plovers in one big flock. There were an estimated 250 Willets and 50 Avocets, with only a few of the others. Never saw so many in my life.

American Avocet (Recurvirostra americana) Male. San Luis Pass, Brazoria County, Texas, USA. Situated on the south-western end of Galveston Island, barrier island. Gulf of Mexico on the exposed side and West Bay on the sheltered side.

This the first time I had every seen this bird. It was at my favorite lake. It was by itself as far as I could see. We apparently get a lot more shore birds than I realized. I guess they stop over on our lakes to rest and feed.

A group of American Avocet resting late evening.

American Avocet (Recurvirostra americana) Sexes similar but the female has a more abruptly upward turned bill at the distal end than the male. Photographed along Boliver Peninsula at Fort Travis Seashore Park along the Gulf of Mexico, Galveston County, Texas, USA. American Avocets can be found...

Mating ritual of the American Avocet where the male splashes water on the female prior to mating.

American Avocet

American Avocet

American Avocet

Long-billed Curlew and American Avocet together was hard to pass up. Two birds sharing the same habitat and both with extreme feeding adaptations. The Long-billed Curlew with its long decurved bill is a very large Sandpiper and is NA's largest shorebird. Sexes similar. The American Avocet is a...

Today I treated myself to a half-day off at Coyote Hills Regional Park. Took over 2000 pictures, a few of them even good ones ;). Here's one I like. There was a large flock of American avocets in a pond of the Alameda creek. Two of them were quite patient with me as I crept up to the edge of the...