American Avocet delights birders along the Wayne/Holmes line near Mt. Eaton

  • By Bruce Glick
  • October 24, 2013
  • 384
                        
American Avocet delights birders along the Wayne/Holmes line near Mt. Eaton Columnist Bruce Glick summarizes happenings in the local birding world. This week Bruce writes about the American Avocet. You can read more in the "Gone Birding" column. It's not often that a migrant American Avocet stays around for a number of days while migrating through our area. Usually the sightings are of one or more birds that may stay only minutes or perhaps for a day or two. That was not the case when a cooperative Avocet set up a temporary home at a pond along State Route 241 southwest of Mt. Eaton near the county line. Day after day, birders were able to stop and see this impressive large shorebird. As I did some reading about avocets, the most interesting information came from three sources: The Shorebird Guide, by Michael O'Brien, Richard Crossley and Kevin Karlson; Handbook of the Birds of the World, Volume 3, published by Bird Life International, and Shorebirds of the Pacific Northwest, by Dennis Paulson. Avocets and stilts make up the group of birds called Recurvebills. There are only seven different species in the world. Four of them are avocets: Pied Avocet, found in parts of Asia and Africa; Andean Avocet, found only on the high alkaline lakes of Bolivia and Chile; Red-necked Avocet, an Australian endemic; and the American Avocet, found mainly in the western half of the United States. The three stilts include: Banded Stilt from Australia; Black Stilt, an endemic from a small area of New Zealand; and the Black-necked Stilt, which ranges across the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia/New Zealand. This makes the Black-necked Stilt one of the most wide-ranging shorebirds. Our American Avocets breed from southeast British Columbia east to southwest Ontario, and south to Texas and on through Mexico to Guatemala and irregularly to northern Honduras. They are also found in southeast U.S. and the Bahamas to Cuba. Avocets breed around sparsely vegetated saline lakes and ponds, lagoons and estuaries. They nest up to 8,000 feet in central Mexico. When not breeding, they favor freshwater habitats plus coastal lagoons and tidal flats (Birds of the World, Vol. 3, page 346). Avocets are distinctive large shorebirds. The bills of males are consistently longer and straighter than females. More than any other shorebird except phalaropes, avocets will feed in deep water and even rest on the water like a flock of ducks (Shorebirds of the Northwest, Paulson). Fall migration can take place anytime between June and early January, although most move south between August and September, with juveniles migrating later than adults. American Avocets winter from California and North Carolina south to Guatemala, Belize and Cuba. The total population is estimated at 450,000 . (The Shorebird Guide, page 348). Stilts and avocets have long been among my favorite shorebirds. I always enjoy encountering them, whether here at home or in other parts of the world. It's especially nice when one shows up close to home. Good birding! Bruce Glick birderbruce@yahoo.com 330-317-7798


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