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.

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.

American Avocet

The American avocet is a shorebird that nests in the prairie pothole region of central North America, from southern Canada down to Northern Texas. They are very territorial and will defend their nest occasionally even against predators like northern harriers. Even though they are quick to defend their nest they are not against laying an egg or two in another avocet's nest or even the nest of another species. However what comes around goes around because avocets are sometimes found with eggs from other birds, such as black-necked stilts mixed in their nest. Fortunately avocet chicks do not take long to develop they are usually out of the nest and able to swim and run with in a day of hatching. During the winter avocets head down to the southwestern United States and Mexico. The red on the neck and head of this bird indicates that it is in breeding plumage.