DROITWICH AVOCETS...

Droitwich Avocets…

There was unrest, there was palpable tension,

A cacophony of raucous squabbles wailed

From tetchy breeding Black-Headed Gulls,

At which nesting Avocets regularly regaled.

Large, ungainly grey-brown gull chicks
Were from skittering Coots protected,

But the wading Avocet offspring were vulnerable 

And their parents screamed and harsh gulls were rejected…

There was tension and clamour, there was critical unrest,

With Lapwings, Shelduck, Moorhens, Plovers and more,

As irritated, alert Avocet adults opened their wings,

To ward off scavengers in a Flashes breeding war…  

Pete Ray

June 2017

Such a noise…

Lovely Avocet chicks waded, as Black-Headed Gull chicks stood large and screeching for food.

The Avocets were keen, feisty and protective, often rising to ward off random gulls.

One gull rushed at a feeding Coot…

Remarkable at Upton Warren’s salt water Flashes…