A new island /sandbar emerged in the Gulf of Mexico 18 days ago. I have wanted to check it out since the first time I laid eyes on it. The day arrived for exploring this little spit of sand when Gail, Billie, Hilliary and Beth went exploring with me. I was throwing the bow anchor when Gail said, “look at those birds”.  I thought, “yes”,  there have been some nice gulls and black skimmers, but I had no idea what I was in for as I looked back and saw seven Avocets! In all my years of guiding I have never seen an Avocet. I have only seen this bird in books.  I grabbed my camera and took many photos. After catching my breath and shaking my head in disbelief, I finally got the stern anchor out and we shelled this new formation of sand and shell. This little spit of sand was loaded with a diversity of shells. A large horse conch and lightning whelk were found as well as sand dollars and a beautiful alphabet cone. The day was filled with new discoveries. I have named this new spit of sand “Avocet Island”.