Baby Stilt - 15 Jul 2022

I took a late afternoon ride at Pt. Mouillee SGA. It was cloudy, breezy and humid. On this day the winds were coming from the NE so the ride out from the Mouillee Creek parking lot was a chore. The great thing is that riding back to the car would be a breeze.

A stop at the Pumphouse netted several Lesser Yellowlegs and 3 Black-necked Stilts far out on the mudflats. 

I continued on toward the NE corner of the Humphries Unit and soon heard the "BET-BET-BET-BET" of another Black-necked Stilt. An adult bird was making a ruckus near shore in the vicinity of several Killdeer and a single Black-bellied Plover.

The male in alternate plumage was brightly-colored in its black and white suit, but it was visibly limping on its left foot. I spent some time digiscoping the bird from the causeway so as not to upset the stilt; there must be a hatchling nearby.

When I turned my attention to the Black-necked Stilt I noticed that it was mainly upset with all of the Killdeer that were nearby. It spent several minutes chasing the Killdeer away before retreating to the edge of the water line. There I saw a tiny fluff on spindly legs foraging near its parent.

Once the baby was found by its parent it calmed down. Enough so that it settled down in the mud and allowed the baby to snuggle up to a hiding place in the belly feathers of its parent. 

It was cute to see the stilt with tiny yellow legs dangling from its belly.Mom (Dad) even closed her/his eyes for several minutes even w/ me nearby.

I headed back to the car unable to relocate the Black-bellied Plover, but did see the 3 stilts again near the pumphouse. Best wishes, little one!

Pte. Mouillee SGA (permit required Sep 1-Dec 15), Monroe, Michigan, US
Jul 15, 2022 5:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Protocol: Traveling
11.0 mile(s)
4 species

Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus)  5     3 adults at Pumphouse. 1 adult in NE corner of Humphries w/ hatchling. Continuing - 2 pair of suspected breeding stilts in Humphries Unit. Photos show adult w/ hatchling and hatchling snuggling in parent brood patch while he/she sleeps.
Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola)  1
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)  4
Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes)  4

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S159560649

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)