Birding before dawn
While waiting for sunrise when I was out on the prairie I stopped at a small roadside slough where there were a variety of shorebirds milling about. One Avocet and two Black-necked stilts were curious about my nighttime activities and stayed close by.
It was too dark for the camera to expose the birds as they moved around so I used a flash set on low power to illuminate the Avocet swimming a few yards off the shoreline. The stilt found that quite intriguing and circled me on land and in the air a couple of times before I carried on towards the eastern glow.
It was too dark for the camera to expose the birds as they moved around so I used a flash set on low power to illuminate the Avocet swimming a few yards off the shoreline. The stilt found that quite intriguing and circled me on land and in the air a couple of times before I carried on towards the eastern glow.
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Black-necked Stilts at Frank Lake
When I first went down to Frank Lake a couple of weekends ago, the American Avocets were the only shorebirds in the small marsh next to the large blind along the water. When I returned at the end of that weekend, there were a couple of Black-necked Stilts (Himantopus mexicanus) that had joined the good times fishing in the shallows.
The two seemed like a couple as they never strayed to far from one another. The females can be distinguished by brown-tinged upper parts, whereas the males are a solid black. The difference was not easily seen but I think I could identify one male and one female.
These are cool little birds. Striking in appearance and very interesting to watch as they stalk around a marsh. I’m excited to find out whether chicks will be following these two around soon.
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Christopher Martin Photography 