{"id":153580,"date":"2025-08-28T04:01:16","date_gmt":"2025-08-28T09:01:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=153580"},"modified":"2025-08-28T04:12:07","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T09:12:07","slug":"young-black-necked-stilt-portrait","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/08\/28\/young-black-necked-stilt-portrait\/","title":{"rendered":"Young Black-necked Stilt Portrait"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was exactly three years ago today when I took this young Black-necked Stilt portrait on the marshes of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge<\/span><\/a> in northern Utah.<\/p>\n

\"YoungYoung Black-necked Stilt portrait in Utah<\/span><\/p>\n

August in Utah is normally a time when shorebirds are seen in large numbers at the refuge. The shorebirds that nested there have mostly finished raising their young and are preparing for migration.<\/p>\n

Shorebirds that nested and raised their young further north pass through the refuge during migration, stopping to rest and feed before continuing on their long journeys. The wetlands here provide the food and shelter they need to refuel, making August a busy and important time for these travelers.<\/p>\n

During good water years, thousands of Black-necked Stilts breed and raise their young at the refuge. In dry years, their numbers can drop off sharply, and fewer nests succeed.<\/p>\n

Utah is in a drying pattern again. I can\u2019t help but wonder how that will affect the number of stilts and other shorebirds that return to the refuge to nest.<\/p>\n

Shorebirds need shallow water and healthy mudflats. When the water dries up, the invertebrates they feed on can disappear.<\/p>\n

That makes me worry about the migrants too. They stop at the refuge to rest and refuel on their long journeys. If the food supply drops, their flights south could become even more difficult.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.\u00a0But life isn\u2019t easy for shorebirds, on their breeding grounds, in their overwintering areas, or during migration. We can and should do more to help them.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Black-necked Stilt photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It was exactly three years ago today when I took this young Black-necked Stilt portrait on the marshes of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in northern Utah.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":153577,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[124,27,1463,1148,26],"tags":[1464,4142,4370,4067,4094,530,4046,274,3950,3951,2315,3996,4095,4193],"class_list":["post-153580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge","category-avian","category-black-necked-stilts","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-utah","tag-black-necked-stilt","tag-close-up","tag-himantopus-mexicanus","tag-immature","tag-marsh","tag-migration","tag-portrait","tag-shorebirds-2","tag-stilt","tag-stilts","tag-summer-3","tag-water","tag-wetlands","tag-young"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t