Black-necked Stilt, Mississippi River, John Deere Marsh, Dubuque, Iowa
My plan for today’s blog post was actually to report about some observations I made yesterday in the front yard and our woods but this all changed with a link I received this morning on the phone. Someone reported two Black-necked Stilts that have been present in the John Deere Marsh at the Mississippi River. My first thought was, oh, this was yesterday, they have probably moved on already, but since this county park is only 10 minutes away from home I decided to jump in the car and give it a try.
Black-necked Stilts are rare for our area and the last ones I photographed was 2023 in Southern California. Indeed, the two birds were still present and these beautiful stilts were not difficult to locate. The only drawback was the weather. A heavy gray overcast is of course not ideal for birds in flight, or like in this case for birds on the water. The heavy rain from yesterday made for some muddy water in the Mississippi River. The Black-necked Stilts didn’t seem to mind that and foraged with high intensity in the shallow water along the John Deere Dyke. Their diet consists of mollusks, small fish, snails, aquatic insects, and seeds. Well, I’m glad I went out this morning. The spring report from the yard can wait another day…
All photos: Nikon Z6 III, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S, Nikon Z TC-1.4x