{"id":46451,"date":"2017-04-24T06:24:48","date_gmt":"2017-04-24T12:24:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=46451"},"modified":"2025-09-10T10:29:26","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T15:29:26","slug":"nesting-american-avocets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/04\/24\/nesting-american-avocets\/","title":{"rendered":"Nesting American Avocets at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AmericanAmerican Avocet female presumably on nest – Nikon D500, f8, 1\/800, ISO 250, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Earlier this month I was able to photograph a pair of American Avocets in the marshes of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge<\/span><\/a> and watch them as they fed side by side and to observe how they reacted to another pair of avocets that flew into their territory.<\/p>\n

The pair of American Avocets were feeding in the grasses and the water right next to the edge of the grasses when I first saw them then the female squatted down on what I presume to be their nest. I say “presume” because I could not see eggs due to the height of the grasses in front of the avocet but when the female settled down into the grass I noticed her moving her chest back and forth and I have seen that behavior before when avocets switch places during incubation.<\/p>\n

When the other pair of avocets flew in both of these avocets got up and started moving towards the other pair and the intruding avocets moved quickly away from them. I was quite a distance from the presumed nest, the pair of avocets in my images and even further away from the intruding avocets.<\/p>\n

\"PairPair of American Avocets in the marsh of Bear River MBR – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 250, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I wanted to include this photo because it shows the female in the front and the male in the back to highlight the differences in their bills, the bills of female American Avocets are more curved than the bills of the males.<\/p>\n

It won’t be long before there will be tiny American Avocet chicks running around in the marshes at the refuge but they have such cryptic plumage as chicks that they can be very difficult to see because they blend right into the habitat. They are far easier to see as adults!<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my American Avocet photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The pair of American Avocets were feeding in the grasses and the water right next to the edge of the grasses when I first saw them then the female squatted down on what I presume to be their nest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":155205,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[451,124,27,1148,26],"tags":[1634,5828,5350,4070,4109,4062,4094,2138,4075,3976,2139,4177,274,3996,4095],"class_list":["post-46451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-american-avocets","category-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge","category-avian","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-utah","tag-american-avocet","tag-avocet","tag-avocets","tag-female","tag-grasses","tag-male","tag-marsh","tag-mates","tag-nest","tag-nesting","tag-pair","tag-recurvirostra-americana","tag-shorebirds-2","tag-water","tag-wetlands"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/american-avocets-pair-mia-mcpherson-7408.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-c5d","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":113609,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/05\/30\/springtime-adult-american-avocet\/","url_meta":{"origin":46451,"position":0},"title":"Springtime Adult American Avocet","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 30, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"This morning, I wanted to share a photo of an adult American Avocet taken in the wetlands of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.","rel":"","context":"In "American Avocets"","block_context":{"text":"American Avocets","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/shorebirds\/american-avocets\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"American Avocet walking in shallow water in spring, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/american-avocet-springtime-mia-mcpherson-2904.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/american-avocet-springtime-mia-mcpherson-2904.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/american-avocet-springtime-mia-mcpherson-2904.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/american-avocet-springtime-mia-mcpherson-2904.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":113164,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/05\/03\/springtime-grebe-and-avocet-portraits\/","url_meta":{"origin":46451,"position":1},"title":"Springtime Grebe And Avocet Portraits","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 3, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"This morning I am sharing two springtime portraits that I took last week at Bear River MBR. The first is a Western Grebe, the second, an American Avocet.","rel":"","context":"In "American Avocets"","block_context":{"text":"American Avocets","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/shorebirds\/american-avocets\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Springtime Western Grebe portrait, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/western-grebe-portrait-bear-river-mbr-mia-mcpherson-2171.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/western-grebe-portrait-bear-river-mbr-mia-mcpherson-2171.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/western-grebe-portrait-bear-river-mbr-mia-mcpherson-2171.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/western-grebe-portrait-bear-river-mbr-mia-mcpherson-2171.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":51896,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/04\/30\/foraging-american-avocets-in-breeding-plumage\/","url_meta":{"origin":46451,"position":2},"title":"Foraging American Avocets in Breeding Plumage","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 30, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Eight days ago it was sunny and bright and I was out having fun photographing a pair of foraging American Avocets in breeding plumage at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in northern Utah.","rel":"","context":"In "American Avocets"","block_context":{"text":"American Avocets","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/shorebirds\/american-avocets\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Foraging American Avocet in breeding plumage, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/american-avocet-foraging-mia-mcpherson-2979.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/american-avocet-foraging-mia-mcpherson-2979.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/american-avocet-foraging-mia-mcpherson-2979.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/american-avocet-foraging-mia-mcpherson-2979.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4649,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/03\/18\/american-avocets-at-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":46451,"position":3},"title":"American Avocets at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 18, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"American Avocets are birds that I look forward to seeing in spring. I have already seen some from a distance this year.","rel":"","context":"In "American Avocets"","block_context":{"text":"American Avocets","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/shorebirds\/american-avocets\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"American Avocet foraging in a shallow pond, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/american-avocet-mia-mcpherson-5223.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/american-avocet-mia-mcpherson-5223.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/american-avocet-mia-mcpherson-5223.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/american-avocet-mia-mcpherson-5223.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":111843,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/03\/31\/snow-weary-and-needing-a-bird-fix\/","url_meta":{"origin":46451,"position":4},"title":"Snow Weary And Needing A Bird Fix","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 31, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"More fresh snow on the ground this morning. I am snow weary. What I need is a bird, nature, gone exploring in the wild fix with no real or clear return time.","rel":"","context":"In "American Avocets"","block_context":{"text":"American Avocets","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/shorebirds\/american-avocets\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Spring male Red-winged Blackbird singing, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/red-winged-blackbird-male-spring-marsh-mia-mcpherson-1613.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/red-winged-blackbird-male-spring-marsh-mia-mcpherson-1613.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/red-winged-blackbird-male-spring-marsh-mia-mcpherson-1613.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/red-winged-blackbird-male-spring-marsh-mia-mcpherson-1613.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15173,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/06\/09\/american-avocets-at-the-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":46451,"position":5},"title":"American Avocets at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 9, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge is one of my favorite places to visit during the summer to observe and photograph nesting birds and take in the beauty of the refuge.","rel":"","context":"In "American Avocets"","block_context":{"text":"American Avocets","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/shorebirds\/american-avocets\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"American Avocet adult in low light, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/american-avocet-low-light-mia-mcpherson-0620.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/american-avocet-low-light-mia-mcpherson-0620.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/american-avocet-low-light-mia-mcpherson-0620.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/american-avocet-low-light-mia-mcpherson-0620.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46451","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46451"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46451\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/155205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}