More baby stilts

On October 12, 2024October 7, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography6 Comments

At the end of June I was back at Roosevelt Wetlands looking for more baby black necked stilts. I found the 3 babies that I had seen 3 weeks earlier. All 3 were there but I couldn’t get them all together in one shot. They were much older but still had the dark gray feathers and paler pink legs.

It looks like they were just starting to figure out the flying thing.

A few usual things were there as well including a skimmer, a moorhen skipping across the water and a single black bellied whistling duck.

I did find another set of triplets farther down the trail. They were maybe 2 weeks old and still had a lot of fuzz.

Another stilt was on a nest. This was a little late but maybe they were trying again. This might have been the couple who had their original nest flooded out.

A kildeer deep in the reeds.

There were tons of white peacock butterflies along the trail.

Aren’t all babies cute?

On September 21, 2024September 16, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

I had been going to Roosevelt Wetlands every few days to see if there were any black necked stilt babies. There had been several couples nesting across the pond so even if babies had hatched it might be hard to see them. On the first day of June I got lucky. There was one family with three little ones feeding not far from the trail. They are so cute when they are that little (aren’t all babies cute?). Both parents stayed close by as the little ones were running around exploring.

A little blue heron wandered a little too close to the area and one of the stilt parents flew towards him and did a few dive bombs. At first the blue heron was not going to move but eventually he headed a little farther away.

There was a moorhen family also feeding in the area and a few times the moorhen Mom tried to run off the baby stilts.

Across the pond I could see another stilt couple that were on eggs. They were nesting on a little spit of dirt in the pond and sadly I had heard a few days later that after a few days of rain the nest got flooded and lost. They usually nest before the summer rains but this couple must have started late.

A Coast Guard plane flies close by.

Swallow tail kites were seen everywhere including this morning.

Growing up so fast, part 2.

On July 13, 2016June 21, 2016 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

Most cars go flying down the road along the waste plant. I mean, why would a normal person slow down to see what’s hanging out in the ditches along the road. Even if you did slow down as you go past, you might not see that tiny speck of a baby bird on the edge of the water. The black necked stilts having been nesting here for several years. Usually some time in May you start to see the babies following the parents around if you know where to look. I pulled onto the grass and took the above from the car. They are very skittish and as soon as the car door would open, the parents would go crazy. So I just rolled down the window and snapped a few shots before leaving. Anyone going by probably just thinks I’m waiting for a tow truck to come.

There were also baby anhingas in the bushes near the black necked stilts.

A very young juvenile little blue heron in the same spot. He’ll soon turn all blue once he loses his baby white feathers.

An older juvenile spoonbill. He doesn’t have any color in his face yet.

Just a few things I saw leaving work in late May.

Baby black necked stilts in the ditch.

On July 30, 2014July 18, 2014 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

Black necked stilt couple in the muck.

What are they looking at?

A baby black neck stilt.

Baby was wandering around in the puddles.

“Mom???”

A little bit older baby. Almost as big as the parent but his legs aren’t pink yet.

He was walking around looking for food.

Reflection in the water.

The water was really low in the ditch by work. This was early July before the rainy season had started. I had seen a black neck stilt family on my way to lunch one day and brought my camera to work the next day. After work I stopped at the ditch and realized there were several black neck stilt families. I think this was a record number of stilts in this ditch. All of these were taken from the car window and cropped. If I opened the door they would freak out and the parents would fly away. They are very skittish birds so I just sat in the car, took a few pictures and left.

Babies after work.

On June 30, 2014July 1, 2014 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography15 Comments

I stopped by the lake close by work for a quick walk before the rain came down. Half way around the lake I saw this black necked stilt.

He stopped for a rest.

A few feet over in the mud, there was another stilt with 3 babies.

They must have only been a few days old.

I sat on the grass behind a tree and watched them for a few minutes. The parent started to doze off and the kids were running around exploring.

The lake was pretty dry and the babies were far out. These are all extremely cropped with my 300mm lens.

Look at those muddy feet!

The other parent flew in for a few minutes then took off again.

Then he was back again after flying half way around the lake.

Why does this parent have 6 legs? Two of the babies were hiding underneath.

One of the babies ventured back out and started walking around again.

Then the other baby came out but stayed close to the parent.

I sat behind the tree for about half an hour and then the sun was going down behind the buildings. The joggers and dog walkers probably thought I was crazy. They didn’t realize I could see these tiny babies across the lake. I hope all 3 of them make it. There are alligators in this lake and hawks flying overhead. My plan is to check back in a few weeks.

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