Black-necked Stilts
Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge
June 14, 2008

An expedition to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge to observe space shuttle Discovery land resulted in the unexpected discovery of a nesting area of Black-necked Stilts.

Learn more from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology:
Black-necked Stilts
The exceedingly long legs of the Stilt raise it up to an imposing height of approximately 15-inches. The long legs allow for feeding in shallow water with the Stilt snapping up any small fish or invertebrates it encounters. According to Cornell, the Stilt has "the second-longest legs in proportion to their bodies of any bird, exceeded only by flamingos."
The mosquito impoundments at the Refuge are ideal Stilt habitat that mimics the shallow wetlands, either fresh or saltwater, that the birds thrive in.

Stilts nest on the ground, creating little nests that, hopefully, will not be inundated by rising water.  Here a Stilt approaches its nest, which consists of the light brown sticks at the top of the mound at right.  Visible inside the nest are speckled dusky colored eggs.  The series of images below show the care needed to maneuver those long legs to allow the Stilt to settle on the nest.  Stilts nesting nearby were taking a great chance for their nest was located right on the ground of the mud flat itself making it highly prone to flooding should the situation arise.

Nesting Stilts can be quite aggressive in protecting the nest and their young.  The Stilt pictured above actually chased several of these Mergansers out of the area.

Stilts will use their wings to great advantage when trying to drive away intruders.  The selection of images below show some of the displays the birds employ, usually accompanied by a cacophony of cries, all geared to distract or drive away the intruder from the nest area.

Incubation takes about 25 days then, when the eggs hatch, within hours the young are out and about searching for food on their own under the protective gaze of the parents. Above, one of a pair of adult Stilts sheparding two very active and inquisitive young Stilts around the mud flats of the mosquito impoundment. The young Stilts fledge about 28-32 days after hatching.
The young Stilts grow rapidly and reach sexual maturity in about a year.

As captivating as the Stilts were, we broke away long enough to watch space shuttle Discovery land.  Above is the view as seen from the Stilt nesting area.
Images & text by Bob Montanaro.
 
 
All images and text copyright Pelican Island Audubon Society.
E-mail: piaudubon@bellsouth.net