Connecticut Audubon Bird Finder: American Avocet

American Avocet
Recurvirostra americana

Where to find it: Over the past few weeks, an American Avocet has been seen sporadically in our Milford Point Coastal Center’s Wheeler Salt Marsh, and from the Birdseye Boat Ramp overlooking the Housatonic River in Stratford.

American Avocets breed in central and western North America, from central Canada to northern Mexico, and winter coastally in the southern US, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America. Avocets are casual visitors to Connecticut from July to mid-November, and are most often found in coastal marshes and adjacent mudflats. The marsh and mudflats at our Coastal Center usually host one or two individuals for brief stays each summer.

How to find it: A spotting scope is helpful when looking for avocets and other shorebirds as they often feed well out in the marsh. The observation platforms at the Coastal Center offer unobstructed views of the marsh and sandbars on Long Island Sound.

What it looks like: American Avocets are large conspicuous black-and-white shorebirds with long blue-gray legs and a long black bill upturned at the tip. On average, females show a more pronounced bend to the bill-tip than males. Avocets are unique among North American shorebirds in exhibiting this feature. During the breeding season, adults have a rufous-buff tint to their head, neck, and upper breast. In winter, these areas are white. Avocets have a distinctive feeding style; they feed by sweeping their bills side-to-side through the water to pick-up invertebrates.

What if the bird isn’t there? Check the marsh at different tides. High tide forces many of the birds to move from the marsh to the sandbars on the Long Island Sound side of Milford Point, Short Beach in Stratford, and Stratford Point. In Stratford, Long Beach and the marshes of the Stewart B. Mckinney Wildlife Refuge are always worth checking, as is Sandy Point in West Haven.

This week’s Connecticut Audubon Society Bird Finder was written by Frank Gallo, director of our Coastal Center at Milford Point, and edited by Tom Andersen

Photo by Kevin Cole, CarolinaBirds.org