Piggybacking on yesterday’s post, volunteer Jim Bennight captured this amazing photo of four Black-necked Stilt chicks (count the legs!) under their mother at the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel.
Fun facts:
Male and female stilts choose their nesting site together. They also share the work of creating the nest, which is always located on the ground in an area with soft sand or other substrate that can be scraped away.
Once the nest is complete and the time is right, mama Black-necked Stilt will lay anywhere from two to five eggs. After around 30 days, the chicks will hatch, covered in down, and are able to run around awkwardly within two hours.
Stilts have some of the longest legs in proportion to their body in the bird world!
