American Avocet Silhouette

by Judi Dressler

Title

American Avocet Silhouette

Artist

Judi Dressler

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

I had arrived early, before the sun had a chance to light up this American Avocet, and yet the water was already a golden yellow from those early rays. Of course the birds were up before me, and this avocet was already busy elegantly fishing.

American Avocets forage for aquatic invertebrates in shallow water while wading or swimming. Their diet consists of beetles, water boatmen, midges, brine flies, fairy shrimp, water fleas, amphipods, and more. They also eat small fish and seeds from aquatic plants. They capture aquatic invertebrates in the water column by sweeping their bill side to side, a signature behavior called scything. With each step they put their slightly open bill in the water and move it in the direction of the outstretched foot, alternating sides with each step. They also capture prey by pecking and plunging. Pecking involves lunging out with their bill to peck at prey within the water column or in the wetland bottom. Individuals also plunge their head and neck underwater to grab prey in the water column. Foraging methods vary by time of day, flock size, and date. Scything and pecking occur more often during the day, while plunging is more common at night.

Photo taken on May 5, 2019, in Lakewood, Colorado.

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Tied for 1st Place in FAA's THE SHADOW OF BEAUTY contest on 1/11/21

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Descriptive keywords and tags include avocets, american avocets, american, avocet, silhouette, silhouettes, fishing, reflection, golden light, spring, wetlands, recurvirostra, recurvirostridae, pond, lake, water, elegant, long bill, shorebird, shore, birds, colorado, aves, avian, nature, wild, wildlife, photo, photograph, photography, judi dressler, and dressler.

Uploaded

September 15th, 2019

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