Extra Avocet pictures from Titchfield Haven Nature Reserve. Avocets are a great conservation success story during the 19th century, this beautiful bird was extinct in the UK. During WW2 coastal land and beaches in East Anglia were closed and flooded as a defence against invasion. This enabled Avocets to recolonise the area from war-torn Europe.

The population is now recorded as UK breeding:1,500 pairs UK wintering:7,500 birds in Europe:37-54,000 pairs.

Avocets are the emblem of the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) and they symbolise the bird protection movement in the UK.