On Alert!
I had seen my very first American Avocet the day before in Monte Vista NWR in Colorado. Even though I was fairly far away along the road, they still kept flying by me, squawking loudly and veering off at the last minute. The next day I was back and the avocets were closer and even more aggressive. They followed the same pattern of flying close and making lots of noise. One landed behind me and proceeded to take on a fighting pose. I began to think they may be protecting young ones and sure enough, when I focused the camera down the road, I could see a couple of chicks with a pair of adults. I was able to capture them long distance but nothing that could be published as I was too far away. Still, this adult was really cool to capture.
