American Avocet

Recurvirostra americana

 

Their bold colours, unique upturned bills, and graceful steps through the water, give the American Avocet an unmatched elegant appearance.

Habitat

Look for avocets in prairie wetlands, such as marshes, in summer. Fall migration takes them south to coastal lagoons, salt ponds, and mud flats, in the southern United States, Mexico, and Caribbean.

You can find American Avocets at Oak Hammock Marsh!

Food

Avocets eat mainly small aquatic creatures, like insects and crustaceans. On occasion they will also eat fish and even the seeds of aquatic plants.

Behaviour

Nesting takes place close to water on bare ground, or in short grass, where their brown-spotted eggs are easily camouflaged. Their sunny nesting spots are hot, so adults will dip their belly feathers in water to keep the eggs cool.

Most other species of shorebirds probe and stab for food with straight narrow bills, but avocets are different. They sweep their upturned bill through the water in search of food, like a pioneer farmer would swing a scythe to cut grain.

In fall their bright colours fade to a drab grayish white for winter.

Conservation

Today avocet populations are stable. They have been successful in adapting to human-made wetlands, helping to replace habitat lost to drainage in other areas.

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