Climate Change. Lack of Resources. Migratory Birds. Hawai'i Seabirds Fisheries. Cats Indoors. Glass Collisions. Wind Energy. Annual Reports. Bird Calls Blog. Go Birding. Live a Bird-friendly Life. Stop Birds from Hitting Windows. Take Action on Urgent Issues. Photo: Melyssa St. Finds most food visually, picking items from surface of water or mud with bill; may spot items underwater, and plunge head into water to take them. A standing bird may grab flying insects as they go past.
Buff, heavily blotched with brown and black. Incubation is by both parents, about 25 days; female may incubate by night, both sexes taking turns by day. On very hot days, adult may go to water and wet belly feathers to cool eggs. Young: Downy young leave nest shortly after hatching; are tended by both parents, but feed themselves. Age at first flight about weeks. Downy young leave nest shortly after hatching; are tended by both parents, but feed themselves.
Mostly insects and crustaceans. Feeds on very small creatures that live on or near surface of water, including many flies, beetles, and other insects, shrimp, crayfish, snails; sometimes eats tadpoles or tiny fish.
Also eats some seeds of aquatic plants. On some western lakes, may feed heavily on brine shrimps and brine flies. Typically nests in loose colonies, sometimes mixed with avocets. Although during the breeding season and in winter, Black-necked Stilts are strongly territorial, the territories are aggregated, and adults will participate jointly in anti-predator displays; thus, there is some degree of coloniality.
An anti-predator display called 'the popcorn display' consists of a group of adults encircling a ground predator and hopping side to side while flapping their wings. They forage visually by wading through the water and picking prey from at or near the surface.
Black-necked Stilts often call loudly and incessantly when agitated. Black-necked Stilts most often consume aquatic invertebrates. They also sometimes eat tadpoles, tiny fish, and seeds of aquatic plants. Pairs form on wintering grounds, during migration, or on breeding grounds; pairs remain monogamous throughout the breeding season.
Both sexes choose the nest site, which is often on a small island in the marsh. The nest, a shallow depression, is scraped by either sex while the other sex watches.
Lining is added throughout incubation, especially in wetter spots where plant material is used to build up the nest. The female typically lays four eggs, and both sexes incubate and care for young. The precocial chicks are able to leave the nest within hours of hatching. Family groups remain together well beyond the time when the young can fly. Juveniles gather in small groups prior to departure from breeding areas. Black-necked Stilts may visit coastal mud flats during migration.
Prior to , the Black-necked Stilt was not known to breed in Washington. A pair in in Grant County provided the first nesting record for Washington followed by five more pairs in According to some, these initial records corresponded with dry years in southwestern states, which forced the stilts north to Washington where they have been established locally.
During the breeding season, Black-necked Stilts are scattered in small colonies from Potholes Reservoir in central Washington north to Okanogan County. They are occasionally seen in western Washington in spring April to May. Diet: Black-necked Stilts most often consume aquatic invertebrates. They also eat small fish, tadpoles, and seeds of aquatic plants.
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