Tuesday 28 April 2009

Avocets Mating. April 2009. England.















Blacktoft Sands reserve, England. April 2009

Canon 50D + 300 2.8 + x2 extender. 400ASA

During April, Avocets become territorial and aggressive, constantly involved both in verbal exchanges and battles for possession of their precious metre of ground on the islets found in the freshwater lagoons.

Potential rivals in the main are other Avocets, Black Headed Gulls, Herons and Shelducks which also use the islets for nesting and resting.

When the gulls and Avocets both engage in "verbals", the overall noise level becomes nearly unbearable.

Copyright: Kevin Smith

2 comments:

Vanessa Bates said...

love their beaks! What a catch!

Unknown said...

strange looking birds. seems as though their beaks would get in the way!