| Common Name | American Avocet |
|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Recurvirostra americana |
| Type of Report | Rare Species |
| Date of Observation | 06/07/2020 |
| Media | |
| Number Observed | 1 |
| Reporting Observer's Name | Jim Mead |
| Mailing Address | 798 Metcalf Drive Williston, Vermont 05495 United States Map It |
| Email hidden; Javascript is required. | |
| Date Completed | 06/08/2020 |
| Names & Emails of Other Contributing Observers | Henry Trombley |
| Latitude of Observation (enter 0 if unable to provide) | 44.1824502, |
| Longitude of Observation (enter 0 if unable to provide) | -73.3613777 |
| Place Name | Button Bay State Park |
| Township | Ferrisburgh |
| County | Addison |
| Vermont eBird Checklist URL | ebird.org |
| Time of Day | 07:31 PM |
| Length of Time Observed | 9-10 minutes |
| Maximum Estimated Distance from Bird (in feet) | 500' |
| Minimum Estimated Distance from Bird (in feet) | 10' |
| Noteworthy Weather Conditions | Mostly sunny, no wind and around 70°F |
| Optical Equipment Used for Observation | Zeiss Victory SF 10x42 bins. |
| Observer’s Previous Acquaintance With This or Similar Species | I saw one of these in Goose Bay in Highgate Springs, VT on 10/12/2014. I've also seen many of these in other states. |
| I certify that any attachments included with this report were captured during this observation event. | |
| Description of Habitat | Shoreline with exposed mud and 2-3' tall grass in the water nearby. |
| Behaviors Observed | It was feeding for a bit moving its' bill side to side, in the water. |
| Description of Vocalizations | We heard loud and crisp single note, repeated calls while the bird was in flight. Described in iBird Pro as "wheep, wheep, wheep, wheep" |
| Verbal Narrative & Description of Observation | We saw the bird fly by and then it turned around, flew by us in the other direction then came back and touched down about 10' in front of us. |
| Relative Size & Shape | Large shorebird with very long legs and somewhat similar to Godwits but has a much thinner bill and more upturned at the tip. Also, similar in shape to Black-necked Stile but much bulkier. |
| Head | The entire head, neck, nape, throat and upper breast was sort of bright rusty/orange/brown colored. The eye was black with a whitish eye-ring. |
| Feet & Bill | The feet and legs were quite long and gray colored. |
| Upper Back | The upper back showed black and white stripes in flight. |
| Lower Back & Rump | The lower back showed the same stripes but the rump was white. |
| Wings | The wings were mostly black with whitish secondaries in flight. At rest, the wings showed a large black area separated by a good sized white area (while looking at the bird from the side) and the primaries were black. |
| Breast, Belly, Flanks, Under Tail Coverts | The breast, belly, flanks and under tail coverts were white. |
| Tail | The tail was round shaped at the tip and white. |
| IMPORTANT: What similar species were eliminated when making the identification and how was this bird different? | Black-necked Stilt was ruled out because they are much less stocky, show red legs, have a straight thin, needlelike bill and never show rusty/orange/brown coloration anywhere on them. Godwits were ruled because they have dark legs that don't appear to be as long as the Avocet's, sturdier, fairly straight (slightly upturned) bi-colored bills and don't show stripes on the back. |
| Other Notes & Comments | This was an adult in alternate plumage. I also used my photos to help describe many of the filed marks of this rarity. |
| This report was written from notes taken: | Written from Memory |
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