Monterey Bay Field Guide

The Stilt and the Salt Marsh: A Portrait and a Landscape

 

A sleek, elegant shorebird, the Black-necked Stilt, Himantopus mexicanus, the strap-footed bird from Mexico, has:

Outrageously long pink legs...

The most extreme of extremities, the longest legs relative to size of any shorebird. The stilt wades into the deepest waters of all waders, six inches or more, using its long thin bill to pick up aquatic invertebrates from the surface of the water.

These legs, when on land, blend well with the salt-loving plants, the halophytes, that store excess salt in their cells until the first rain. The stored salt turns these cells at the ends of the branches, the extremities, if you will, bright pinkish red. Common halophytes in our salt marshes include the invasive non-native ice plant and the many forms of pickleweed, Salicornia sp.

How long are the legs?
Bright white parts...

tail and rump, forehead, lores, chin, and throat, breast and belly

shaded to match the grains of sand, the foggy day, the reflections bouncing off the still water

 

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How long is the bill?

 

 
 

Black head, neck, back and wings...
The better to blend with the salt-bleached, moisture-impregnated, wind-sheared vegetation of the salt marsh

The better to be one with the dark still water the tide-lapped rocks

The better to hide from the night hunting owl, the feral red foxes and the free-roaming cats, and the Common Raven, the Peregrine Falcon and the Red-tailed Hawk that utilize the power line towers and other man-made structures
To camouflage, to blend with nature, to become one with the salt marsh, is to survive for the Black-necked Stilt. Today, California has less than 10% of its original wetland remaining.

 How long will they last?

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Viewing Locations

Pajaro River Mouth

Elkhorn Slough

Salinas River Wildlife Area

Moss Landing Wildlife Area

Moss Landing State Beach and Harbor

Morro Bay

Santa Maria River Mouth

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Text Sources

USGS

PRBO

Stilts and Avocets

Image Sources

Pelican Network--Black Stilt in Salt Marsh

CalPhotos--Iceplant

Tijuana Estuary--Pickleweed

CalPhotos--Black Stilts

I have seen a
Black-necked Stilt
Where?

 

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