#avocet

[hoot-alex]

[herpsandbirds]

Spring Bird Watching Trip

Hey y'all, Paxon and I are back from a week off, where we went birding along the Texas Gulf Coast and at Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge, outside Austin, TX.

We saw lots of eastern screech owls, a lot of standard spring migrating warblers, and lots of roseate spoonbills and other wading birds nesting at High Island.

Here were my highlights from the week:

1. Bolivar Flats Shorebird Sanctuary, on the Bolivar Peninsula (across from Galveston Island), we got rather close to huge numbers of American Avocets in breeding plumage and Black Terns.

2. Galveston Island, in small brackish marsh, in the center of the island, a large group of male and female Wilson's Phalaropes, feeding and doing their typical twirling motions. (The females are colorful and the males are dull).

3. Balcones Canyonlands NWR, I got two LIFERS that I had been chasing for a long time... Scott's Oriole (the last species of oriole i had not seen in the US, now I have them all!) and the endangered Black-capped Vireo (finally)!!!

photographs: tern - Jeff Dyck; avocets - photolady57, phalropes - Rick Grupe; oriole - Andy & Chrissy; vireo - Keith Turpin

[thatsbelievable]

[kavohh707]

An avocet foraging for food in the shallow water.

[useless-polls]

Toucan

Hornbill

Spoonbill

Black Skimmer

Shoebill

Parrot

Pelican

Flamingo

Avocet

Kookaburra

[unrestrained-balderdash-art-blog]

Day 4 of Pied Month! Avocet? More like arospec! (was originally going to be aroacet, thought of the better pun during the end of the inking)

Reference photo by Andreas Trepte

I'm on Cara now! (social media for artists that's anti-AI). Follow me @ TBalderdash!

[not-as-hot-as-a-guillemot]

[blogbirdfeather]

Avocet - Alfaiate (Recurvirostra avosetta)

Vila Franca de Xira/Portugal (10/10/2024)

[Nikon D500; AF-S Nikkor 500mm F5,6E PF ED VR with Nikon AF-S TC-14E III; 1/2500s; F8; 400 ISO]

[dansnaturepictures]

Avocets at Lymington-Keyhaven Nature Reserve, Hampshire 13th April 2024

It was a true pleasure to see so many of these slender, elegant and emblematic waders on our walk here yesterday. I got some of my finest ever views and saw some of the most I ever have at once of one of the key species that captivated me in my early birdwatching days, so one I hold dear, in a wader fest yesterday. Hearing their shrieking calls was a treat also and I felt optimistic thinking of the exciting days ahead where they'll nest and raise their gorgeous chicks.

[theweeowlart]

The pied avocet is a black and white bird with a very long, upturned beak. It lives and breeds in the coastal areas of Europe and Central Asia. My drawing of this bird can be found here… https://theweeowlart.etsy.com/listing/1693742146

[wingedjewels]

Not Just Another Warm Body by Lee Greengrass Via Flickr: Hayward Regional Shoreline, Hayward, CA. This avocet is providing warmth to its two young chicks.

[kavohh707]

My personal highlights - 2023 - part 2:

Baby Birds!!!! I love the season of baby bird cuteness. And many of those pictures are from my neighborhood and prove that you don't need to travel to experience wildlife.

[battle-of-the-birds]

Remember to read about the contestants before voting!

American Avocet

With its long, curved beak it’s no wonder that the American Avocet’s diet consists of crustaceans and insects. I’m winter they feed almost exclusively on brine shrimp. They are currently of least concern, although in the past they were hunted readily, and even made extinct on the east shores of America! . Learn More!

Passenger Pigeon

Although the passenger pigeon is extinct, they still hold a tender place in everyone’s hearts. Hunted to extinction, the Passenger Pigeon used to come in huge flocks of billions. They used to be the most abundant bird in North America. This is part of the reason they went extinct, as efforts to breed them in captivity failed since they needed large flocks to meet their breeding criteria. Learn More!

(American Avocet photo by Blair Dudeck)

[camiliar]

I saw a lot of people were misreading "Scything" as "Boything" so meet Boything!

[lost-lycaon]

Pied avocet

[blogbirdfeather]

Avocet - Alfaiate (Recurvirostra avosetta)

Vila Franca de Xira/Portugal (25/10/2024)

[Nikon D500; AF-S Nikkor 500mm F5,6E PF ED VR; 1/2500s; F6,3; 500 and 400 ISO]