The first time Ron tried to photograph an American Avocet I thought he would end up with one of these large seagull-sized birds' beaks drilled into his forehead. He had stepped out of the car to photograph them at a slough (pond) right beside the road. The adults must have had young in the area as they seemed angry and proceeded to dive bomb him - flying with their long beaks aimed right at his forehead. He of course hastily got back into the car. Now he always photographs them from inside our vehicle, using it like a blind with a large lens out the open window. Ron took this image last year at Reed Lake were there were hundreds of Avocets. From the van we were able to watch chicks of various sizes feeding in the water and even a couple of adults still sitting on or tending their nests. Both the male and female will incubate the eggs.

To read more about Reed Lake, the Avocets and other birds see my blog posting "Gone to the Birds" on my blog Lori's Log of photographic journeys of Ron Erwin Photography".