American Avocet

American Avocet - A Bird Brought In By Hurricane Dorian

American Avocet

 Hurricane Dorian dropped many very rare birds on Nova Scotia, mostly in the area east of Halifax.  These birds were probably engulfed by the high winds and funnelled northward.  As the eye of the hurricane passed over that area, the birds were able to make it to land.  Other birds found their way to other parts of Nova Scotia as well as New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland.  Many other birds were surely picked up by the hurricane and were either killed or drowned at sea.

Today's post is about one beautiful bird which made it safely to the Halifax area, a single American Avocet as shown above.  The American Avocet (Recurvirostra americana) is rarely found in the Maritime Provinces.  I have records only for NB and it has been recorded from the province fewer than 20 times.  I saw one at Shepody in 2008 and one at St. Andrews in 2010.  It is possible this individual is a casual visitor to the area but most likely it was blown in by the hurricane.

The bird shown above is a male in non-breeding plumage.  The males have a less up-turned bill than the females.  In breeding plumage the bird has a rusty coloured head and neck, a white eyering and white at the base of the bill, black wings and back with a bold white scapular stripe.  In non-breeding plumage the head and neck are white or light gray and the underparts are gray.  The bill is long, needle-like and upturned.  The bluish gray legs are very long.  The bird is 46 cm/18 in. long.  As seen in the photos above and below, there is a remnant of the rusty colour on the head and breast.  The white eyeing and white at the base of the bill are also visible.

American Avocet

The American Avocet is a western shorebird.  It breeds normally in the prairie provinces and down into the mid-western and western US as far as California to Texas.  It winters along the coasts of the southern US and Mexico.  Its preferred habitats include freshwater marshes and shallow lakes.  It breeds in salty or brackish marshes.  Avocets often nest in loose colonies.  Nests are built on a beach or mudflat.  The 3 to 4 pale olive eggs spotted with brown and black are tended by both adults.  This species is very aggressive around the nesting sites.  Adults have been known to physically strike marauding hawks and ravens.  Avocets feed by swooshing their bills underwater side-to-side along the bottom.  That stirs up aquatic insects.  They also eat crustaceans and aquatic plants.

The American Avocet is a member of the Recurvirostridae family along with stilts.  North American members of this family are the American Avocet and the Black-necked Stilt.  There are 7 members of this family around the world.  The decline in this species is due to the loss of wetlands in recent decades.

American Avocets show some interesting traits.  While nesting, if the water levels rise enough to threaten the nest, the adults will raise the nest up a foot or more with sticks, weeds, etc. to keep the eggs above the water.  Another interesting fact is their ability to foil an approaching predator with a special vocal technique.  They emit a series of calls that gradually change in pitch which simulates the Doppler effect.  This makes the approaching bird think it is coming in faster than it really is, confusing the predator and giving the avocet a chance to escape.  Neat birds!

Avocets are a social species.  It made me sad to see this individual all alone except for the crows and Mallard ducks which were around the same pond with it.  Social species need to be with their kin.  I hope this individual can build up its stored energy levels soon so it can return south and hopefully find some of its own.