Black-necked Stilt family

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These pics are not the greatest because I didn't want to stress the parent bird by getting closer or staying longer to get better shots as I don't believe that recreational photography or birding justifies such intrusiveness. I was surprised the parent bird was disturbed by my presence since I was over 100 feet away and I stayed inside my car, but some species and even some individual birds are more sensitive than others. The he parent Black-necked Stilt is standing near her offspring in the top pick. Even with it's poor quality it shows well the reddish pink legs that is an indicator of adult females per Birds of North America (BNA) online. Juveniles have brownish irises and "Juvenal plumage has similar pattern to adult but dark feathers of upperparts brown with buff margins creating a scalloped effect" according to BNA. This scalloping effect can be made out on the two juveniles (both sitting on their legs). The pale legs of the one juvenile are clearly seen in the lower pic as is the unusual way in which their legs fold under them when they sit on them.

Even though I drove further away after taking these pics the mother stilt continued calling then flew off and her offspring followed her (though one was obviously not a strong flier yet). SeEtta

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