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The American Avocet is found in the western third of North America including Alberta and Saskatchewan, migrating in about half the western states, and taking up residence in Mexico. It's also a nonbreeding visitor to the southeastern coast of the U.S. Now, ever so surprisingly, there's one little dot (and I mean DOT) in California where this birds is supposedly (and I mean supposedly) a year round resident, and that is right smack dab at the Carquinez Strait where the Alhambra Slough meets it in Martinez, CA. One can find them in breeding plumage as shown in this image, what James calls, their "casual attire," and in black and white "formal wear." This image is rare since I haven't seen them sporting their breeding plumage before mid-January. The black and white phase - see the next upload - is usually shown nine months of the year if these birds show up here at all.
I've taken a couple of days off from taking a few days off. I haven't posted but once, and I've made very few comments. So, feeling a little guilty for what I'm not sure, I set out today for two locations, one of them the Strait, and Jackpot! Three Avocets in both dress, and three Black-crowned Night Herons in my swamp location.
Now then, the American avocet (Recurvirostra americana) is a large wader in the avocet and stilt family, Recurvirostridae. This avocet spends much of its time foraging in shallow water or on mud flats, often sweeping its bill from side to side in water as it seeks its crustacean and insect prey. The American avocet is a bird in the order Charadriiformes, which includes shorebirds, gulls, and alcids. Its family - Recurvirostridae - includes stilts and avocets. The American avocet is one of four avocet species; the Andean avocet, the pied avocet, and the red-necked avocet are the remaining three species in the genus.
I hope you all had a very merry or maybe a Very Acceptable Christmas, and thank those of you who sent a greeting. I'm already starting on my naughty and nice list for 2021, so both of you, be very careful.
I wasn't going to post this Gouldian Finch due to the extreme ISO (12800) used to capture it in the bush of Australia's Northern Territory, however I felt the colours popped enough to make it to my Flickr stream.... thank you Nikon D750!
Five additional images from the first snowfall of the season. These are all around my home. As you can see, the autumn leaves are still showing off their colors.
Le 12.07.2023 à 22h58 la BB7258 est en tête du 3751 Paris-Austerlitz 22h12 > Toulouse -Matabiau 7h07 avec la tranche du 3755 pour Rodez dans la rampe de Guillerval au PK 61.
Nickel Plate/Penn Central heritage unit duo leading NS coal train 740 south at Antietam, Maryland, August 11, 2020