Tag: Black-necked Stilt

The good news on arriving to help out on the trails today at Reifel was that the Black-necked Stilt was still around and at the rear of the house pond. Needless to say that was my first stop.

Apparently the Stilt had been following some Northern Shovelers in the pond earlier in the day, perhaps checking out what they were stirring up.

While the ducks were still around, while I was watching it hung around with the Greater Yellowlegs or would wander off on its own.

While preening off and on, the bird also provided a couple of chances to get shots like this.

The nice thing about this location in the sanctuary is that you are at the same level as the bird for a more natural perspective. The lighting and reflected colors on this particular pond can also enhance your photo opportunities. Being a little closer to your subject doesn’t hurt either.

Received a message today concerning a fairly rare visitor to the Lower Mainland area. A Black-necked Stilt had been spotted at Reifel. It has been almost five years to the day since my last photo of this species in this area. So taking a little time off work was in order.

On arriving at the sanctuary I learned the bird was still present in the southwest field and headed right out there. On arriving there were several other birders/photographers already there.

The Black-necked Stilt was not hard to spot amongst the Dowitchers.

The bird provided good viewing and photo opportunities. It would have nice if it was a little closer, but still a lot better than my last photo/record shot.