Live Life at Full Throttle
One from the Archives:
I remember one morning in 2014; think it may have been my first day out trying to photograph birds with a “proper lens.”
After spotting a Black Neck Stilt furiously chasing an American Avocet, I pointed my lens at the birds and fired off a few frames.
When I checked the back of my camera and saw that I had actually captured the flying Avocet, I was astonished... It was a wonderful day : )
____________________________
Meet the American Avocet:
The American Avocet takes elegance to a new level. This long-legged wader glides through shallow waters swishing its slender, upturned bill from side to side to catch aquatic invertebrates.
It dons a sophisticated look for summer with a black-and-white body and a rusty head and neck. During the winter the head and neck turn a grayish white, but the bird loses none of its elegance as it forages along coastal waters or rests while standing on one leg.
Female American Avocets sometimes lays eggs in the nest of another female, who incubates them without noticing. This is called “brood parasitism,” and American Avocets may do it to other species, too; American Avocet eggs have been found in the nests of Mew Gulls.
On the other hand, species such as Common Terns and Black-necked Stilts may also parasitize avocet nests. In the case of the stilts, the avocets reared the hatchlings as if they were their own.
American Avocets place their nests directly on the ground without the benefit of shrubs to provide shade. To keep the eggs from overheating during incubation, they dip their belly feathers in water.
American Avocet chicks leave the nest within 24 hours of hatching. Day-old avocets can walk, swim, and even dive to escape predators.
The oldest recorded American Avocet was at least 15 years old when it was found in California, where it had been banded a decade and a half earlier.
(Nikon D610, 300/4.0 + TC 1.4, 1/2500 @ f/6.3, ISO 500, edited to taste)
Live Life at Full Throttle
One from the Archives:
I remember one morning in 2014; think it may have been my first day out trying to photograph birds with a “proper lens.”
After spotting a Black Neck Stilt furiously chasing an American Avocet, I pointed my lens at the birds and fired off a few frames.
When I checked the back of my camera and saw that I had actually captured the flying Avocet, I was astonished... It was a wonderful day : )
____________________________
Meet the American Avocet:
The American Avocet takes elegance to a new level. This long-legged wader glides through shallow waters swishing its slender, upturned bill from side to side to catch aquatic invertebrates.
It dons a sophisticated look for summer with a black-and-white body and a rusty head and neck. During the winter the head and neck turn a grayish white, but the bird loses none of its elegance as it forages along coastal waters or rests while standing on one leg.
Female American Avocets sometimes lays eggs in the nest of another female, who incubates them without noticing. This is called “brood parasitism,” and American Avocets may do it to other species, too; American Avocet eggs have been found in the nests of Mew Gulls.
On the other hand, species such as Common Terns and Black-necked Stilts may also parasitize avocet nests. In the case of the stilts, the avocets reared the hatchlings as if they were their own.
American Avocets place their nests directly on the ground without the benefit of shrubs to provide shade. To keep the eggs from overheating during incubation, they dip their belly feathers in water.
American Avocet chicks leave the nest within 24 hours of hatching. Day-old avocets can walk, swim, and even dive to escape predators.
The oldest recorded American Avocet was at least 15 years old when it was found in California, where it had been banded a decade and a half earlier.
(Nikon D610, 300/4.0 + TC 1.4, 1/2500 @ f/6.3, ISO 500, edited to taste)