Thursday, October 21, 2010

Sandpipers: Part VII

The Black Necked Stilt is another very elegant -- even stunning -- looking sandpiper. To me they always look like they are on their way to a "Black Tie" dinner. Their habitat is salt marshes, shallow coastal bays, and freshwater marshes. Unlike many of the other sandpipers, they do not summer in the Arctic. Those found in the United States are typically migratory, summering along both the southern parts of the Atlantic and Pacific and inland, to some extent, in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and along the Mississippi River States. They also show up in arid parts of Oregon, Washington, Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming. They winter mostly in Mexico and Central America. The Black Necked Stilt feeds by picking as opposed to "sweeping" like the America Avocet. They are usually found in large numbers and when taking off create a marvelous photo as you can see in two of the photos below.

Black Necked Stilt
photo taken at Ninepipe National Wildlife Refuge, Montana

Black Necked Stile
photo taken at Mahleur National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon

Black Necked Stilt
photo taken at Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, California

Black Necked Stilt
photo taken at Lake Cochise, Arizona

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