Avocets - a story of love from RSPB Marshside
Photographs and text by Martin Campbell.
We waited with bated breath for their return, and they haven’t disappointed. RSPB Marshside’s avocets sneaked back under our very noses, attracting visitors keen to reacquaint themselves with one of our earliest arrivals.
And it seems that this pair haven’t wasted a moment in sealing their love tryst, witnessed and photographed from Sandgrounders’ hide. It’s a gentle and delicate ballet, performed as a pas de deux, which fully befits these paragons of elegance among our birds.
A pair of Avocets feeding together mimic each other’s movements…
…and begin to preen in tandem…
…before the female begins to take up a submissive posture with head and neck stretched low over the water.
The male positions himself at her side and continues to preen.
After a few seconds, he moves round behind her and preens at her other side.
This is repeated several times, while he also splashes her with water.
Finally, he mounts her and the ritual reaches its climax.
As he dismounts, the couple share an intimate moment…
…before running or swimming together, peeling off in different directions as they return to washing and preening.
This is the tone currently being set among a wide variety of creatures Marshside. Spring, with its sense of new beginnings, is well on the way. The black-headed gulls are displaying, redshanks are practicing their trilling song, common toads are grappling and spawning in the ponds and channels, but none do it with as much finesse as our avocets.
So keep your eyes open when you visit Marshside. You might just be lucky enough to see these extraordinary sights.