Juvenile American Avocets

As fun as it was to watch grebe chicks, I was a little disappointed not to see any Avocet chicks. We did, however, manage to see several juvenile Avocets. When this adult Avocet confronted us in the middle of the road,

I realized there must be a juvenile nearby and managed to grab this shot a juvenile and adult swimming away.

I’m not sure how old the juvenile might have been, but, seen next to a parent, he is obviously quite young.

The other juvenile Avocets we saw, seemed older and larger than this one. Though the plumage on this juvenile looks quite similar, it was a considerable distance away from any adults and seemed larger.

These two seemed even older, perhaps explaining why there wasn’t a parent in sight.

While researching on the internet to try to guesstimate how old these youngsters were, I found some interesting facts. First, the Cornell site stated that chicks leave the nest within 24 hours. That means Leslie and I were extremely lucky last year to get shots of chicks in the nest. It also explains why we’ve never seen that again. Second, the chicks feed themselves right after leaving the nest.