Need identification help for bird seen on Manitou Lake near Deckers

[Amanda Dodson]

I saw a duck I'd never seen before on Manitou Lake yesterday. It was smaller, maybe crow sized. Black and white wings with an orangey-tan wash over the head. Its eye ring and the skin around its bill was nearly pale blue in hue. Its beak was dark and very long, like a snipe. 

I never observed it diving or feeding, though I did see it do quick bobs of its head often. There was only one.

Any ideas? Merlin came up with no matches, and I haven't been able to find anything in the CO field guides. The snipe has a similar beak but the markings and coloring are quite different.

Apologies for the bad cell phone photo. 

[David Suddjian]

Hi,

That is not a duck, but a shorebird - an American Avocet. Probably only infrequently found at that location, so a nice find.

David Suddjian

Littleton, CO

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