CEDAR KEYS AUDUBON  

AID TO THE INLAND AVOCET: A SUCCESS STORY...a note from Peggy Herrick

November 15, 2019

Recently, I was out with my new camera searching for the elusive scrub jay in the scrub preserve. As I pulled off Route 24 into the Scrub State Preserve entrance, I was startled by a handsome avocet sitting by itself in the middle of the parking lot. This is a strange sight - a wading bird inland and away from its usual habitat. It was also a convenient subject matter for me!

I used the injured bird as a model to test my abilities to focus and make my first camera images. After a few minutes, I called our local Audubon bird rescue people. When Doug Maple arrived with a big net to gather up the bird, it slowly began walking away. Faster and faster it walked in the opposite direction from where we stood until it was able to gain flight.

This was a “win/win” success story - I was able to test my camera and record the avocet. The avocet prospered with some protected rest. Its flight into the trees allowed escape any predators who might have seen our solitary injured bird as easy prey. Doug and I speculated that this bird may have been injured by a blow inflicted by a car or another bird and that the rest may have been therapeutic. 

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