The avocets have arrived!

The phone line was buzzing this morning with the news of the first sighting of the avocets.  This autumn event is greeted with the same excitement as that of the arrival of the first swallows in the spring. 

The distinctive black and white wader has a long upwardly curving beak.  It is a wonderful sight in a small area of the Tamar from autumn until the spring.

Hunted to extinction in the 19th century and successfully reintroduced following the Second World War the avocet is a symbol of nature conservation in Britain and is the symbol of the RSPB.

Have a look at  other birds you might spot on the Tamar.