American Avocet

Description:

From Wikipedia: 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. The adult is about 45 cm (18 inches) tall.

Habitat:

The breeding habitat is marshes, beaches, prairie ponds, and shallow lakes in the mid-west and on the Pacific coast of North America. American avocets form breeding colonies numbering dozens of pairs. When breeding is over the birds gather in large flocks, sometimes including hundreds of birds. Nesting occurs near water, usually on small islands or boggy shorelines where access by predators is difficult. The female lays four eggs in a saucer-shaped nest, and both sexes take turns incubating them. Upon hatching, the chicks feed themselves; they are never fed by their parents. This species is migratory, and mostly winters on the southern Atlantic and Pacific coasts of Mexico and the United States. The American Avocet forages in shallow water or on mud flats, often sweeping its bill from side to side in water as it seeks its crustacean and insect prey.

Notes:

The "Encyclopedia of Life" says that American avocets are found in western North America from March through October and in coastal California, southern Texas, Florida, Louisiana and south to Guatemala in winter. Distribution from Caribbean; North America; rare but regular fall migrant in the Northeast. Althought it is possible that it may be migrating through, it seems more likely that it was blown off course during Hurricane Irene. It has been here, alone, for about two weeks, never moving far from this little cove. It seems to be very comfortable hanging out with the local gulls, and it doesn't seem to be bothered much by people. Photographers can get fairly close to it without disturbing it. Everyone is wondering what will happen to it now... Personal Note: Although the circumstances for spotting this bird are unfortunate, because it's not where it belongs, it is still a new bird on my life list.