The Pied Avocet, graceful scythe-billed wader of Hyères lagoons
Strikingly aristocratic with its crisp black-and-white plumage and slender upturned bill, the Pied Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta) is one of the most admired jewels of the Hyères salt pans, wading through the calm Pesquiers lagoons with stately grace.
My field observations in the Var — sites, months and context
✓ Aug 2026 Synthesis (1 record)Observed and photographed in August 2026 on shallow evaporation pans of Salins des Pesquiers in Hyères, scything through soft silt along glasswort borders and resting on sunlit banks.
Commented in situ photo gallery
2 telephoto photographs taken in the Var department (Rule 11)
Recognizing the species on my photos — visible details
Length 42-45 cm. Immaculate white plumage marked with a black cap extending down the nape and bold black wing bars. Slender upturned black bill and long pale blue-grey webbed legs.
Salt pans, shallow brackish lagoons, intertidal mudflats and glasswort marshes.
Brine shrimps (Artemia), aquatic insect larvae, marine worms and small snails swept up by tactile scything.
Photographing the species: field experience
Capturing the continuous rhythmic scything motion close to the water surface requires soft lighting and pinpoint focus on the dark eye to freeze the upturned bill without clipping pure white mantle highlights.
- •Its upturned bill is a mechanical marvel, allowing the bird to sweep water side-to-side without digging into the sticky mud bottom.
- •Chicks are born with a slightly upturned bill that curves progressively more as they mature.
- •Partially webbed feet allow avocets to swim effortlessly across deeper channels between lagoons.
