Avocets at Brigantine

American Avocets are regular visitors to New Jersey in warmer months, especially late summer. They show up frequently enough that one can expect a few to show up around southern New Jersey's coastal hotspots, but not often enough for birders to take them for granted. With their elegant bodies and thin, upward-curving bills, it would be hard to tire of them even if they were far more common here.

This small flock has been lingering at Forsythe NWR (a.k.a. "Brigantine"). Sightings of this species in colder months are somewhat unusual, so these birds may not stick around much longer. When I first saw them, they were wading into deep water – so deep that it came up to their chests. They almost appeared to be swimming.