The American Avocet

American Avocet in breeding plumage

I have always liked birds but had never really begun seriously watching and photographing them until my late 20s.  That was partly due to the lack of equipment and a certain awareness regarding the class.  It was during the summer of 1987 that my curiosity was piqued.  

I lived in Bonnyville, Alberta, at that time and spent my free time jogging and hiking in the area.  An early summer morning found me walking along the local lake shoreline when I came across a stunning bird.  It had an unusually long, upturned beak and sported a graceful rusty coloured neck.  It turns out it was my first encounter with the American Avocet.  That moment may have been the impetus that launched me into avian photography.

In Canada, avocets can be found in southern Alberta and Saskatchewan during the breeding season.  They prefer shallow marshy areas where they can find aquatic invertebrates; their long bills are perfect tools for probing the muddy substrate.  Using a sewing machine action they wade along shorelines searching for the small creatures that make up the bulk of their diet.  

How can the birds tell if they have come upon a prey item?  It turns out that all birds have sensory receptors called Herbst corpuscles that are vibration-sensitive organs.  Wading birds often have dense clusters of them at the tip of their bills.  Movement of creatures near these foraging components is detected and the sensory information is used to find and seize them.

I photographed the above avocet this summer while visiting a friend in central Alberta.  As we were driving along the highway I spotted the colourful birds wading along a marshy shoreline.  We returned early the next day with my camera and long lens and I got some great photos.  It had been 35 years since my previous encounter.  This moment was, in my mind, no less epic.  It was wonderful.

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com