It has taken them 55 years to realise that it's not bad up north!! In 2002 Avocets, normally a breeding species of southern and eastern England, have bred for the first time at Silverdale, just on Cumbria's southern border!! They reappeared as a breeding species in East Anglia in 1947, and have grown in number since through the efforts of conservation groups. Now we can watch them on the west coast, with up to 40 present during the summer.

This is the wader par excellence and always fascinating to study; the Morecambe and Allen hides at Leighton Moss provides the perfect opportunity. The barrister or "avocat" displays its pied plumage on bluish legs as it sweeps the shallows with its huge curved bill. Watch it wade out and then begin to swim, eventually upending in deeper water as it finds its favourite shrimp prey. Now you know why it has webbed feet like a duck!

The Avocet nests colonially on mud or sandy patches near to shallow pools, usually starting to make their nests in Lancashire in mid-May. This habitat is rare in Britain and is quickly lost if plants take over; hence the need for management and the reason why they have been sussing out the RSPB's saltmarsh pools at Leighton Moss for the last few years. They benefit from the presence of Black-headed Gulls, which help to deter predators, often nesting close to them on the same island (see image below).

The young feed themselves from the start, at first by pecking in the mud, but after ten days or a fortnight their bills are beginning to curve and sweeping actions begin.

Adults defend their "patch" aggressively. In the air they will dive-bomb an intruder, while on the ground they will walk alongside the intruder gradually edging it away. The point is proved by the fact that Avocets have successfully raised young each year by fending off 300+ breeding Black-headed Gulls at Leighton!

In winter they move to warmer areas, such as the Tejo Estuary in Portugal, but milder winters in Britain have seen quite large numbers over-wintering on the Devon coast in the Tamar and Exe Estuaries.