Thursday, January 14, 2016

American Avocet

American Avocet
 Every couple of years or so we make a trip out to Yellowstone National Park to photograph the wildlife. Since most of what we photograph at Yellowstone are mammals we usually stop at one or two Montana wildlife refuges on our way home. The two that we usually go to are Bowdoin NWR and Medicine Lake NWR. Both of these refuges are located around wetland areas in the Prairie Pothole region of North America. Both are typically a haven for waterfowl, waders, shorebirds and prairie species.
American Avocet
On last years Yellowstone trip we stopped at both refuges. At Bowdoin I snapped these images of an American avocet. The red coloration that you can see on the head and neck is breeding plumage. When it is not the breeding season these areas would be white. These birds typically winter in coastal water of southern California, Mexico, Florida, the Caribbean, and along the Gulf of Mexico.

8 comments:

Unknown said...

How wonderful..... overhere its called Amerikaanse KLuut

Have a nice abc-day / week
♫ M e l ☺ d y ♫ (abc-w-team)

A Colorful World said...

A really beautiful shorebird! Wonderful shots!

Margaret Birding For Pleasure said...

Very elegant bird

Anne (cornucopia) said...

Great bird photos!

Anonymous said...

handsome!

Roger Owen Green said...

cute!
ROG, ABCW

Lady In Read said...

such beautiful photos, and I always learn a lot when I visit your blog.. I enjoyed birdwatching as a child but somehow never continued it seriously. My son (13 now) was also into birdwatching for a few years (and still enjoys reading/learning about them but more into cars now :))

Ira said...

I am no professional in photography but these captures are splendid!