Avocet Feeding

This morning we went for an excellent guided tour of a highly protected area in the Marais du Vigueirat--a refuge at the eastern edge of the Camargue. We drove five kilometers in a small van to the center of the reserve, and walked from there. The highlight was a well placed blind (sun behind us!) where we must have seen 2 to 3 dozen species--most not especially close, but it was still very good.

This Pied Avocet (usually just called Avocet--Recurvirostra avosetta) was the closest, and the most interesting blip. The bird's bill is barely open, and you can see things along the interior (view it large). It is probably using surface tension (or a sort of capillary action) to transport food up along the bill to its mouth. Shorebirds are known to often use this kind of mechanism to feed.

I also blipped Avocets on our trip to Belgium in February. They are a slightly different species from the American Avocet.

In the late afternoon we returned to where we had seen the Little Bustards yesterday (as I mentioned)--this time we saw at least eight of them (versus four previously). They were considerably closer, with excellent binocular views, but still not ideal for a blip. Stay tuned!