Editing Avocet (section)

==Range and habitat==
In a large colony, they are aggressively defensive and chase off any other species of birds that try to nest among or near them. That causes the annoyed remark "''Avocet: [[Exocet]]''{{-"}} from some British [[birdwatcher]]s.<ref>[[BBC TV]] 1 program ''[[The One Show]]'', 7–7:30 p.m. 16 January 2008</ref>

They had been [[extirpated]] in Britain for a long time because of [[land reclamation]] of their habitat and persecution by skin and [[oology|egg collector]]s, but during or soon after [[World War II]], they started breeding on reclaimed land near [[the Wash]], which was returned to [[salt marsh]] to make difficulties for any landing [[Operation Sealion|German invaders]]. Avocets use [[Titchfield Haven National Nature Reserve]] as a summer breeding ground.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.hants.gov.uk/thingstodo/countryparks/titchfield/explore/cottagehide |title=Cottage Hide |publisher=[[Hampshire County Council]] |language=en-GB |access-date=3 June 2019 |archive-date=3 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190603163203/https://www.hants.gov.uk/thingstodo/countryparks/titchfield/explore/cottagehide |url-status=dead }}</ref>