Avocet
It’s late, but still quite light, when we arrive at the River Exe and I’m delighted to see an Avocet on the muddy bank.
![Avocet - The Hall of Einar - photograph (C) David Bailey (not the)](https://www.thehallofeinar.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Avocet-The-Hall-of-Einar-3-725x483.jpg)
They’re busy, elegant, entertaining birds.
![Avocet - The Hall of Einar - photograph (C) David Bailey (not the)](https://www.thehallofeinar.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Avocet-The-Hall-of-Einar-2-484x725.jpg)
We cross to look at a larger mudbank and I can see there’s a flock of Avocets, but they’re very far out. I’m thinking that not even Wellington boots will get me out there, and safely back, when one flies close by:
![Avocet - The Hall of Einar - photograph (C) David Bailey (not the)](https://www.thehallofeinar.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Avocet-The-Hall-of-Einar-7-725x484.jpg)
Their beaks are amazing, aren’t they? Humans previously extirpated them from the UK and they only arrived back because of World War II protecting their coastal breeding grounds.
I put together a composite shot of it flying past:
![Avocet - The Hall of Einar - photograph (C) David Bailey (not the)](https://www.thehallofeinar.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Avocet-The-Hall-of-Einar-4-725x483.jpg)
They are so elegant I’m entranced.
As we return to the car in the fading light, the one we saw first is still out there, working the bank.
![Avocet - The Hall of Einar - photograph (C) David Bailey (not the)](https://www.thehallofeinar.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Avocet-The-Hall-of-Einar-1-725x408.jpg)
The persistence they have in meeting their daily struggles for existence is inspiring.