American Avocet
Shorebirds are on their way and one of the most beautiful is the American Avocet. Avocets are medium-sized shorebirds. Their body is about 18 inches long and sits atop long blue-gray legs. Wings and tail are black with a prominent white wing stripe. The remainder is white except during breeding season when the head, neck and upper chest turn a lovely rusty brown. Their bill is long with a prominent sweep upward at the tip. The curve of the female’s bill is even more pronounced than the male’s. In flight, the long legs trail straight back and a black patch is noticeable between the wings.
American Avocets love shallow water. They walk slowly through it, swishing their bill from side to side to dislodge invertebrate prey. As they stalk through the marsh, they shake their foot each time they lift it up.
Avocets nest on the ground. They scrape out a small depression that they may line with grass, pebbles or other small objects. Sometimes they don’t bother to line the nest at all. They lay 3-4 greenish-brown eggs with irregular spots. It is not uncommon for a female to deposit an egg in another’s nest or even to place an egg in the nest of a gull or stilt. And vice versa, stilts and other birds take advantage of the avocets by laying eggs in their nests. Avocets treat all chicks that hatch and keep up as their own.
Keep up? American Avocet chicks are hatched ready-to-go (called precocial) and within 24 hours leave the nest and follow their parents. Even at this tender age, they can run, swim and even dive to escape predators.
There are a number of birds that are somewhat similar to the American Avocet. Black-necked Stilts, Willets and Marbled Godwits are examples. However, none of these has the prominent upturned bill and none has the rusty head of the breeding American Avocet.
American Avocets have some fascinating courting/breeding rituals. If you see a pair, be sure to stop and watch for a while. You may be rewarded with quite a show.
Don’t let the elegant look of an American Avocet fool you. Nesting avocets aggressively defend their nests and have been known to deliver body blows to Harriers and Ravens.
When and where found at Camas NWR:
You will find American Avocets in any marshes/shallow water on the refuge. Also look for them in flooded fields. Some Avocets will nest and raise young in area wetlands.
“Populations declined in the 1960s and 1970s, largely from the loss of wetlands from water diversion for human use. Contamination of wetland habitat with selenium caused increased developmental abnormalities and mortality. Since 1995, owners of selenium-contaminated sites in northern California have been required to provide safe wetland habitat for the species. Breeding success on the newly created sites has been much greater than initially expected, but long-term prospects for breeding at these sites are not clear. Since 2004 numbers appear to be increasing in many areas according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey.” https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Avocet/lifehistory ?