Black-Necked Stilts. San Joaquin Valley, California. December 3, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
A small group of black-necked stilts cavorting in Central California wetlands
Black-necked stilts are, in my opinion, beautiful and photogenic birds. They have striking visual features — their very long legs, the stark black and white patterns of their feathers, their interesting head and bill shapes. They also will frequently spend time in shallow water — just the right depth for their long legs — and seem to tolerate my photographing them from a close-by vehicle. They often wander back and forth, turning towards and away from the light.
Most often I have seen them as isolated individuals or perhaps in the company of one other bird. But this time, in one pond, I found groups of them, a half-dozen or more, behaving as if they were part of small flocks rather than rugged individualists. This group alternated between walking or swimming left and right in front of my camera, and then wildly leaping into the air for short, low elevation flights. The former is easy to photograph, but the latter much less so.
G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
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