American Avocet

Description:

The American Avocet is a large wader. This avocet has long, thin, gray legs, giving it its colloquial name, "blue shanks". The plumage is black and white on the back with white on the underbelly. The neck and head are cinnamon colored in the summer and gray in the winter. The long, thin bill is upturned at the end. These birds were spotted at a pond 100 feet from the gulf coast of Texas at Sea Rim State Park. The American Avocet is protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.

Habitat:

This species is migratory, and mostly winters on the southern Atlantic and Pacific coasts of Mexico and the United States.

Notes:

Sea Rim State Park is a 4,141-acre state park in southeast Texas. The park is located on the Gulf of Mexico in southern Jefferson County, south of Port Arthur and just west of Sabine Pass. The park was closed for several years due to extensive damage from Hurricanes Rita (2005) and Ike (2008). The park has recently re-opened but the new boardwalk is still under construction.