ML638256078

Observation details

I found an American Avocet sitting on a nest on an earth mound perhaps 2 m in diameter, out in the water not far from the southwest corner of the southern pond. After the bird moved away (apparently foraging in the shallows, and not engaging in any sort of distraction display toward me), I was able to see a nest and what looked like eggs; later, when I brought the scope, I could make it out clearly. The nest was low, more or less a ring of small sticks laid on the ground roughly perpendicular to the nest's radius. There were four eggs, with light gray-brown background coloring and irregular dark spots and small splotches. I'd guess that each egg was about the size of the adult bird's head, though I didn't see eggs and bird in the same viewfield, so didn't get a direct comparison. While I was scoping, the bird returned to the nest and settled down on it, with its legs extended forward along the ground. On this hot day, I suspect that no one had to incubate the eggs full-time; indeed, it's quite possible that the bird was sitting atop the eggs to keep them from heating up excessively in the sunshine.