The Avocet is a long-legged wading bird with striking pied plumage and a long, thin upturned bill.
Re-establishing itself as a British breeding species in 1947 on the Suffolk coast, Avocets now breed more widely around England's east coast. In winter the population is augmented by birds from Europe. Large flocks can be found in suitable coastal habitat, predominantly in the south-east and south-west of England.
Although still predominantly a coastal breeder, atlas data reveal an increasing number of inland breeding locations. However, coastal freshwater marshes are where Avocets are seen at their best. Elegant bluish-grey legs enable a purposeful gait as they sweep their bill from side to side in shallow water to sift tiny invertebrates from the mud.
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Listen to example recordings of the main vocalisations of Avocet, provided by xeno-canto contributors.
Alarm call
Call
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Avocets have since substantially increased both their population (Eaton et al. 2021) and their range (Balmer et al. 2013) during the second half of the twentieth century and subsequently. They are now breeding in suitable wetland locations scattered across most of England and also in Wales, predominantly at coastal sites, and have recently even bred in the Outer Hebrides (Eaton et al. 2021). The five-year mean for the period 2015–2019 reported by the RBBP was 2,138 pairs, an increase of more than 300% in the 25 years to 2019 (Eaton et al. 2021).
The Avocet's breeding distribution is centred in eastern and southeast England but over recent decades has spread westwards and northwards. By 2008–11 there was one pair in Wales and several pairs in northwest England with the most northerly breeding site in Northumberland. Since then Avocets have continued to spread north, breeding in Scotland for the first time in 2018. In winter the largest concentrations lie around the Thames and Medway Estuaries, on the Suffolk coast and along the south coast between the Solent and Poole Harbour.
Britain and Ireland Breeding Distribution 2008-2011. More from the Atlas Mapstore.
Britain and Ireland Winter Distribution 2008-2011. More from the Atlas Mapstore.
Avocets are recorded throughout the year but encountered more widely in spring and summer when birds move away from localised wintering sites to dispersed breeding locations.
Weekly occurrence patterns (shaded cells) and reporting rates (vertical bars) based on BirdTrack data. Reporting rates give the likelihood of encountering the species each week.
Movement
Information about movement and migration based on online bird portals (e.g. BirdTrack), Ringing schemes and tracking studies.
A study in Germany found that predation by foxes and flooding affected hatching success and that June temperatures were the main determinant of chick survival, which was the main factor influencing breeding productivity (Hötker & Segebade 2000). This might suggest climate change as a possible driver of the UK increases but this is speculative in the absence of specific evidence from the UK and it should be borne in mind that climate change could also have negative effects on chick survival in the UK if it leds to wetter summers.
Protected sites are assigned based on population statistics for vulnerable and endangered species. This new study using WeBS data shows that changes in population size can affect local abundance, and thus influence whether or not key targets are met for site protection.
Links to more studies from ConservationEvidence.com
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