The Salton Sea in Southern California lies 227 feet below sea level. It is the largest lake in California and shelters at various times of the year, half of the variety of bird species found in the United States. Millions of birds visit the sea annually.
American Avocets get their name from the Italian word ‘avosetta,’ which means graceful.
They are slender waders that feed mainly on crustaceans and insects.
Avocets used to be widespread across the United States,
but the species was killed off in much of it’s eastern range by the early 1900’s.
The Salton Sea is a critical habitat for these, and many other bird species, but the sea is shrinking due to climate change and increased human demands for water. Efforts are underway to help save the sea and the birds that rely on it. Time will tell if these efforts will be enough.
Cheers to you from the graceful avosettas at The Salton Sea~
For more about Avocets see:
https://nhpbs.org/natureworks/avocet.htm
Definitely graceful birds, Cindy!
They walk like ballerinas! Cheers to you Terri დ
Amazing photography Cindy, quite lovely and those birds are beautiful! All the best and greetings from Spain,
F
Thank you Francisco and cheers to you in gorgeous Spain! დ
You’re very welcome 😊
დ
And here I thought the Salton Sea was purely a human caused accident. In fact, it’s been a sea many time in history, this last time, being filled unintentionally by an engineering failure. “Over about two years, these two newly created rivers[19] carried the entire volume of the Colorado River into the Salton Sink.” Now, that’s a lot of water. ~1905.
It sits on the San Andreas fault — time for a refill, maybe.
Yes. I have been visiting the sea since I was a child. It is a complex anomaly and quite amazing that such a polluted body of water shelters such an incredible variety of wildlife. დ
Do you have a home in Australia too?
I wish!!! დ
It is so sad that so much beauty in one place is threatened by the voracious needs of the human race.
Yes it is. The longer one lives, the more one can see how wildlife numbers are declining and habitats are being destroyed. It is very sad დ
They do have a certain grace Cindy, lovely photos.
Leslie xoxo
Thanks much & cheers to you Leslie დ
They are definitely graceful. Hearing about another threatened body of water is so sad. I hope the destruction can be halted and reversed.
Yes. Far too many critical wetland habitats are under assault. I hope it is not too late to save the sea დ
What funny beaks they have.
They are designated for scooping yummy buggies out of the mud! 😉
Look at those beaks! What cool birds. Hope the stick around.
I hope they stick around too and I hope we are able to rescue the sea დ
Interesting, I love their upturned beaks! I spent a lot of time at the Salton Sea as a child, but I don’t recall ever seeing these unique birds, thanks for sharing!
Maybe we met there as children! დ
These graceful birds have unique beak. Thank you for sharing these photographs. 🙂
Thank you more for being such a good friend to all დ
The beak of the avocet is unique, isn’t it? Perfect for dipping into the wet shoreline for whatever might be hiding there.
Exactly. They are like scooped forceps, good for catching wigglies! დ
I love that about nature, how, over eons, animals mutate and adapt to their environment and their needs.
Very true.
Sad to hear about this lake, but not surprised. Might help with a new administration the 21st, att least it sounds like that. Otherwise these birds also will ens up on the red list. Great pictures with glorius light.
Thank you Hans & I hope so! Maybe the new admin will halt the oil drilling permits Trump issued for the Artic National Wildlife Refuge. Hard to believe we still haven’t learned from our unending list of tragic mistakes…..
Love these birds. So beautiful.
I <3 my friends who <3 birds! დ
Me too!
დ
Such graceful beauties, aren’t they? 🙂 🙂
Yes they are, and their shy behavior makes them doubly endearing დ
So beautiful 👍😘
They are shy and lovely creatures დ
Such beauty and such sadness…thinking about how it could play out is making me anxious. Thank you, Cindy, for bringing such important environment questions to the forefront of people’s minds. ❤️
Thank you more for caring Teresa. The world needs more people like you my friend დ
❤️
Beautiful. May the Salton Sea save the avians.
Amen John. Stay safe & well my friend დ
Very good. Thank you. (Trying to remember what avocet is in French… Hmmm. Pluvier?)
I think a pluvier may be a plover. Plovers are smaller but they are also water waders so they are similar დ
You’re absolutely right Cindy. It is a plover. Probably a deformation of the French. And avocet is “avocette”. learnt something. 🙏🏻
I learn things everyday from talented people like you. It makes life so much more worth living დ
Me? Come on? I’m just an amateur. Much honoured though. It may be one of the greatest benefits of blogging. How we learn new things everyday form each other…
Take care Cindy. 🙏🏻
Bloggers definitely enhance my life დ
Truly a beautiful and graceful bird, I love their colors and thin, curved bills. Grace personified!
Yes, they are such lovely creatures and they move like ballerinas დ
I find myself looking more at birds these days Cindy…delightful ~ smiles hedy ☺️💫
I am so glad. Watching birds in nature is excellent for your mind, body and spirit. I was reading a news story about a woman in the UK who nearly died in hospital from corona virus, while patients were dying around her. She said upon discharge, that she plans to spend as much time as possible now in nature, watching birds. Stay safe & well Hedy დ
Powerful message to save the Salton Sea, Cindy! The photos are so special! Thanks so much, my friend! 🙂
No wonder we understand each other Fabio. You “highlight the good and beautiful,” around us. I do the same thing. Stay safe დ
Thanks so much, Cindy, for your kind comment! I learn a lot with your meaningful and beautiful posts. I thank you for that! Please take care, my friend! 🙂
დდდ
Cindy, thank you for these lovely photographs.
Thank you more Charles for looking at them. Stay safe & well my friend დ
Great photos.
Honored. Thank you დ
You’re welcome.
დდ
Avosettas – what a wonderful name and beautiful birds!
I would like to visit the Salton Sea one day…thanks, Cindy, for the awesome images.
Thank you Sheila. Please, if you plan to visit, talk to me. It is a very unusual place. Hope you all are safe and well my friend დ
This is the way to experience nature, Cindy! Thank you for allowing us a way to see the world without increasing our footprint.
I just love riding along through virtual life with you Rebecca დ
They are beautiful birds, Cindy. I hope efforts to save the Salton Sea will prevail.
“I hope efforts to save the Salton Sea will prevail.” Thank you much Lavinia. I am grateful for your hope and concern. Stay safe დ
These scenes and the facts about the Salton Sea are just remarkable, Cindy! I’ve seen Avocets only once or twice in Florida, but your excellent images of them here are a joy to look at!
I just <3 people who <3 birds and wildlife. I couldn't happily live separate from nature დ
Thank you for introducing the avocets to us, Debra! I like all your pictures. But the second last is very special as it shows two American avocets in harmony with each other, something we all desire in these troubling times.
Yes. How perceptive of you. I was going to put that photo first. I was waiting for someone to notice. Thank you for noticing დ
Fascinating! Beautiful!
So very happy you care about them! დ
😘
I’m so enjoying being introduced to so many different types of birds that are new to me!
I have always loved introducing my good friends to each other დ
🙂
Thanks, Cindy, I’d never heard of or seen these beauties before.
Love to you and thinking of you. Thank you for liking these fragile beauties დ
Your photos, my pleasure. ♥
დდ
Belss you!
Beautiful and so many things are sad nowadays. I hope they save them.
Yes. So many things are sad now. Love to you Gigi დ
Beautiful birds, which only resemble the ones we’re familiar with in this country in the shape of their beaks. Lovely photos too!
Thank you Margaret. Seeing the variety of different bird morphology across the world is one of my favorite things about traveling დ
Such beautiful birds. I hope the habitat can be maintained successfully. (btw I had a comment on my latest post supposedly from you. I’m sure it wasn’t, it went in spam, but just as a heads up you might want to change your password)
That is scary. I will look into it. Thank you for the heads up and be well Cathy დ
You’re welcome. Take care 💚
დ
Gorgeous photos of your feathered friends
Merci beaucoup mon ami Sheree დ
De rien!
დ
Certainly very dainty and graceful birds. 🍂
Lovely, sweet creatures დ
You always bring exotic birds here. These are also another very interesting looking birds.
I am grateful to you for your very kind interest over the years my friend. Stay safe & well დ
Your magnificent photos reveal the beauty of the avocets that live in this immense Californian lake. The name of these birds goes according to the elegance they show.
You give us some photographic delights. Good Sunday Cindy
Ahhh, what a lovely comment. Thank you! You brought a smile to my Sunday my friend დ
You are welcome
დ
Truly graceful birds.
They are special aren’t they დ
Reblogged this on Musings on Life & Experience and commented:
The graceful American Avosets in Southern California’s the Salton Sea.
Thank you so much for being such a supportive and thoughtful friend Patricia დ
Such a beautiful bird. Sure hope there is success in maintaining their habitat as I suspect there are many living things that rely on it as their home.💕
Yes, thank you Lynn. An amazing variety of wildlife depends upon the sea. The amount and variety of mammal tracks along the shoreline are incredible. დ
Pingback: Grace on Wings~ — – Pershspective
Thank you for your passion and advocacy on behalf of our avian friends! დ
Beautiful photos, Cindy!
Grazie mille Eugenia დ
Such pretty birdies, Cindy! I hate that their habitat is in danger. We must do a better job of protecting our home, huh?
Yes! Hopefully we can make some progress over the next four years დ
Such lovely creatures. Thanks for sharing them with us.
Thank you more Darlene for appreciating them დ
Thanks for another foray into the hearts and beauty of nature with these graceful birds and words. Thank you Cindy. 🧡
Ahhh, you are so welcome Brad. Stay safe & well my friend დ
You too!
დდ
Graceful, indeed! I love their long, slender bills!
Yes, they match their long slender legs, which you can’t see clearly when they are in the water. დ
Fabulous photos! They are indeed a graceful bird. I hope our efforts will help save these birds and their habitat.
I hope so too. They are shy and lovely creatures დ
Beautiful birds with an interesting bill shape. Totally unlike the pipers I’m familiar with, whose bills are straight.
Yes. Good observation. The curved beak does seem effective though for scooping and poking დ
Love their grace and symmetry. You have captured them beautifully Cindy 💕
Aren’t they lovely creatures. Thanks much Val. Stay safe & well my friend დ
I love their upturned beaks and glamorous plumage. Happy New Year, Cindy. K x
They are beauties aren’t they Kerry! Happy & Healthy New Year my friend დ
💕
What beauties! Their bills are magnificent.
Save the whales!
Save the bees!
Save the Monarch butterfly!
Save the Polar Bears!
Save the Salton Sea!
Save me!
Cindy, is there anything but pigeons, sea gulls and certain insects that don’t need to be saved?
BEAUTIFUL shots. Thank you!!!!
Well Resa, I can think of one person whose presidency shouldn’t be saved for one more second…… Is this helpful? 🙂 When he’s gone, maybe we can reverse the drilling rights he approved in The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. დ
დდდდდდდ
Beautiful birds… Wonderful images…. and I learnt a new location today 🙂 <3
Ahhh, I am so happy to have made the introduction and thank you Sue for such a lovely thoughts დ
Loved the intro… you have a wonderful eye and capture the most amazing things of beauty
You have to admit Sue, you recognize the beauty. And that is the most important.
Thank you დ
🥰🤗
Lovely pictures. I recently read the history of the Salton Sea and how it was a huge resort for the Hollywood types at one point until it became so chemically polluted. I am glad the birds can tolerate it.
Yes. The history is fascinating. It serves as sort of a precautionary tale for environmental mismanagement დ
Great set of photos. Amazed at the Lake being so much below sea level
Death Valley in California is the same. It is a strange phenomena დ
Lovely captures, Cindy! I love their gracefulness!
Aren’t they special and so shy and quiet დ
Sometimes when I see your photos Cindy, I get quite overcome by the extraordinary world we live in. Marvellous!
What you just said makes me so glad I blog. Thank you very much Bruce დ
Why must grace always be threatened?
Oh boy, this is a question bigger then me დ
Good pictures
Grazie~
The holler, above, at or below sea level?
Jim is interested in elevation. We live approx. 800+ ft. above sea level.
Unfortunately, human is the main enemy for birds, animals and plants on Earth. Why we cannot live in harmony with the Nature is my biggest question.
Yes. And we do not have a good historical record in dealing with vulnerable human beings either. And all of us humans are part of nature.
We seem to be a species due correction.
That’s true.
Yes very graeceful creatures with their specialised bills. Great photos, especially the colour!
Thank you for your thoughtful comment Emma & cheers to you დ
Lovely birdies. Have they cleaned up the New River which dumps into the SS from Mexico?
Oh, of course, no, “they” haven’t. The inflow of toxic wastewater into the sea, from multiple sources, including New River, is part of the reason the Salton Sea is the apocalyptic wasteland that it is. There is also the Colorado River water issue. Biologically the Salton Sea should be a dead, dying, smelly and toxic sea, which it is. But at the southern end, it is an ecological surprise. The birds come en-masse here, and so do mammalian predators.
I have fond memories of going there as a kid with my father. It warms my heart to see the Salton Sea through your lens and all the beautiful surprises.
How wonderful and we are similar. I visited the sea often as a child. The sea and surrounding desert make a lasting impact on a child as we both prove!
This is so wonderful. I love the information dotted with such beautiful photos. Beautiful
I am touched that you enjoyed. Cheers to you and thank you for letting me know დ
super schön ,liebe Cindy, ich grüße dich ganz herzlich, Klaus
Vielen Dank mein Freund. Bleib sicher und gesund დ
Such beautiful photos, thanks for sharing.
Thank you more for your kind appreciation Jennie დ
Happy days.
დდ
The slightly curved beak is especially lovely. Beautiful photos, Cindy!
Thank you Jennie & stay safe and well my friend დ
You’re welcome, Cindy. The same to you, my friend. 🥰
დდ
I have found great pleasure in visiting your blog. 👍 🌺🍂
paintdigi.com
This makes me very happy. Thank you for letting me know დ
thank you very much for your message, and welcome to my little web space. my dear Cindy 😊⚘
დდ
What a beauty! You are one awesome photographer!
Ahhhh, thank you so much Sharmishtha & cheers my friend დ
It breaks my heart to hear about the loss of habitats. So sad, there is no place for bird to live. The same happens here in Ireland.
Vanishing lake is a natural thing, but as you say, the increased demand for water accelerates the process. I still remember a picture in my school book and my feelings about the inevitable change from lake to bog. Where would the ducks go? Now, 50 years later, there are very little places for waterfowl to go to.
Hope your 2021 is happy and safe.
Yes. I have witnessed exactly what you describe and it is heartbreaking. No matter how much habitat is destroyed, there are certain people who just want to ruin more. It is heartbreaking. Stay safe & well Inese დ
Thank you! You too <3
დ
Ahh…the amazing grace on wings! I’m absolutely flappergasted! LOL! On a more serious note, I’ve just completed a course in Specialized Eldercare…right before the lockdown on 12th January. Stay safe, stay healthy & stay happy, my dear friend! ♡♡〜٩(^▿^)۶〜♡♡
Congratulations on your course completion! Your skills will be in high demand in the coming years my friend. Stay safe & well დ
Thank you so much, my friend. (●මᴗමσ)σணღ*
დდ
Beautiful Cindy
Grazie mille დ
👍🏻
I love avocets. Your photos, as always, are of a high quality.Thanks you, Cindy.
Thank you Isabel. Your thoughtfulness is much appreciated დ
Gorgeous photos, Cindy. I love the Avocets, they are such beautiful, graceful birds. The American Avocet looks slightly different from the ones we have in Norfolk, Recurvirostra avosetta, a common and popular sight here.
I would love to see yours! Jim just got a vaccine. I will have to wait longer. If we both get vaccinated, we might be able to travel again later this year…. We are talking about Iceland again, and not clear where else enroute. დ
Our neighbours had theirs last week. I’ll have to wait a while. If you ever plan to come to England give us a shout, the Norfolk Coast is an AONB. Can’t really see any travels in the UK this year with the numbers we have at the moment though. Take care❣️
I would love to see the Norfolk Coast. I agree it will take more than a year to defang this plague. But, you know, hope rises, floats, and flies. Stay safe and well დ
Avocets are truly graceful. What an apt name for them.Even their black markings have gracefully curving lines. Do their long also curving beaks spear their food? It’s so sad to see so many bird species having fewer and fewer numbers!
I think they work like scoopers or tweezers depending on the water characteristics. They move their heads from side to side under murky water stirring up yummy-yuck up from the murk and sucking it down with the curved beak as the bugs and stuff float up. In clear water they scoop bugs and up with a beaky tweezer action. Nifty huh, if you like eating bugs and such 😉
It’s amazing that their bills are so versatile!
Nature is amazing დდ
What beautiful birds! Their beaks seem so delicate – almost exquisite.
Aren’t they delicate and well designed! Happy you enjoyed them & cheers დ
Beautiful! California has so much to offer.
It definitely does, even with drought, fires and now covid! დ
super schön, l liebe Cindy, passe gut auf dich auf, sei herzlich gegrüßt vom Klaus von der Müritz
Vielen Dank lieber Klaus. Ich bin froh, dass du es genossen hast und hoffe, dass du in Sicherheit bist und mein Freund დ
Beautiful pics. Am glad to have found you. You have a beautiful blog 😍😍
Awww, thank you & lovely to meet you დ
I really enjoy your photos. Nature never misses showing its beauty!
Thank you so much. Nature is God’s gift to us all. დ
Great post.
Thanks for sharing.
https://thesocialtalks.com/world/climate-change-a-vital-thread-with-adverse-effects/
Thank you for your kind appreciation დ