American Avocet

by Donna Kennedy

Title

American Avocet

Artist

Donna Kennedy

Medium

Photograph - Photographs

Description

Original Fine Art Photography by Donna Kennedy...
Texture added for an artistic enhancement-Photographed in Reno, Nevada

The American Avocet (Recurvirostra americana) has very long grayish-blue legs, a long neck and a long turned-up black bill. The female's bill turns up a little more than the male's bill. Its head and neck are rusty-red in the summer and grayish-white in the winter. It has black wings with white stripes and a white body. The avocet's breeding range stretches from Washington, Manitoba (Canada), and Minnesota, south to California and Texas. It winters in California, Texas, the Gulf Coast and Florida. The avocet lives in freshwater marshes and shallow marshy lakes. It breeds in salt or brackish marshes. It may move to coastal areas in the winter. The avocet moves its bill back and forth on the surface of the water to stir up insects, crustaceans and other food. It then scoops the food up in its bill. It also eats seeds and aquatic plants that are on the surface of the water. Female avocets lay three to four eggs in a shallow depression lined with grass on the beach or a mudflat. Avocets will occasionally nest in colonies. Both the male and the female will incubate the eggs and care for the chicks. Avocets can be very aggressive towards intruders while they are nesting. They make loud noises and even dive at intruders to drive them away from the nest. It takes about three to four weeks for the chicks to hatch. The chicks can swim and feed themselves soon after they are born, but they won't fly until they are about a month old. Avocets are short-distance migrators. When they migrate south every fall, occasionally some will stray off the migratory path and end up on the Atlantic Coast. 12161121

Thank You to the following Groups that Featured this photo:
-Birds in Flight
-Versatile Photography
-Excellent Self-Taught Artists
-Photography and Textures Make Fine Art
-Comfortable Art-Limit 2 per day
-Feathers and Beaks
-Small Showroom
-Feathers
-PhotosRUs
-FAA Portraits-Birds
-A Birding Group-Wings
-Birds In Focus
-Wildlife One A Day
-1000 Views on 1 Image
-1000-1999 Views

Uploaded

September 15th, 2013

Statistics

Viewed 1,274 Times  -  Last Visitor from Ottawa, ON - Canada on 04/18/2024 at 8:48 PM

Colors

Embed

Share

Sales Sheet

Tags