The first time I saw a picture of an American Avocet was in Tri-Cities on a brochure showing birds that could be seen in the refuge at different times of the year. Right then I resolved that I would find one to photograph. It was a few years before I found one, though, despite exploring all the bird refuges on the Columbia River. Strangely enough, the earliest picture I could find in my blog was taken in the San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge, near Santa Rosa in March of 2012, and it was in its non-breeding plumage. The earliest I remember seeing one in full breeding colors was at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.
Later I learned that the best place to find them breeding was at Bear River. I finally managed to get a shot of an Avocet chick there on July 12, 2016. I was hoping to relive that moment on our recent visit, but we saw very few Avocets there this time and not a single nest, though when we were confronted by this Avocet as we started the road tour, I suspected that there might be a nest nearby.
However, I dismissed that idea when the Avocet suddenly decided to take a nap.
The area where we’ve seen nests before was drained this year and cows were roaming the fields, apparently an attempt to rid the area of some kind of obnoxious weed.
So, we had to settle for shots of solitary Avocets foraging in the shallow water on other parts of the refuge,
but Avocets are such elegant birds that it’s always a treat to see them, chicks or not.
We did see a few pairs of Avocets, though. This pair foraged so closely together that I wondered if they could be courting each other and nesting.
If so, they would be late because a little research revealed they generally nest from April to early July.
In a normal year, that’s when Leslie and I would be headed to Colorado, but this was far from a normal year in so many ways. Hopefully, we can get on track again next year.
