American Avocet

A birding adventure—American Avocet. Last Wednesday, 27 October 2021, Erika and I took a break from the rain and walked in the Billy Frank Jr Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge. There we introduced ourselves to the leader of the weekly bird walk, led by a near neighbor to us. We did not join the walk, since they spend 7 hours in the field and go a whole lot slower than we do. We were frustrated to learn that the birders found an American Avocet about an hour after we met them, close to the estuary boardwalk, where we had walked and seen nothing.

Then Washington enjoyed an atmospheric river pass through, but reports of an avocet at the refuge continued to appear. So on Saturday, 30 October, we ventured back, specifically to try to see the avocet. The day was cold, beautiful, but very windy. We stopped in the area where the bird had been seen but saw nothing. The tide was low—previous reports were from periods of high tides. Nothing. Being Saturday, the refuge was fairly crowded. An obvious birder walked by with a scope on his shoulder.  I asked sarcastically, "Seen any avocets lately?" He replied, "Yes, right in front of you, among those three Ring-billed Gulls about a third of a mile across the estuary." We would NEVER have seen it on our own.

As you can see, avocets are stunning birds (even more so in the summer, when they sport orange heads and necks). The use their upturned bills to scythe the water surface for various aquatic invertebrates.  They also jab and probe for small fish and seeds. The species is unexpected in western Washington, were it is considered to be a rare, local migrant. Although the species is an uncommon breeder in eastern Washington, this observation was our first in the state.