![\"black](\"http:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/black-necked-stilt-2404-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n\u00a01\/5000, f\/8, ISO 640, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Stilt mating behavior is complex,\u00a0with\u00a0many distinct and sequential stages but during most of them the birds were turned away from me\u00a0so I didn’t much like most of\u00a0those shots but I think this one worked out pretty well.\u00a0 One of the reasons the image appeals to me is the oval ring of water drops\/bubbles from their activity that surrounds the birds.\u00a0 This is a tricky balancing act on the part of the male and it takes him quite a while to\u00a0become stabilized enough to consummate the act.<\/p>\n Here’s something that fascinates me from a behavioral and evolutionary point of view: \u00a0the complicated and ritualized mating behaviors of Black-necked Stilts and American Avocets are virtually identical – something I’ve seen and photographed many times.\u00a0 The steps involved include Solicitation Posture from the female, Sexual Preening with water splashing, the male repeatedly circling the female before copulation, copulation itself, then Bill Crossing (the males bill is always<\/em> placed on top of that of the female) and then finally the male drapes\u00a0his wing over the back of the female just prior to separation.\u00a0 I won’t go into more detail here but if you’re interested I’ve documented these behaviors in the American Avocet <\/a>in a previous post.<\/p>\n This was one of those times when being familiar with behaviors\u00a0enabled me to get the shot.\u00a0 I’d have surely missed it otherwise.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n Note:\u00a0 I\u2019ll be out of town\u00a0for a few days this week with no computer access and a\u00a0limited and unreliable cell phone signal so I\u2019ll likely\u00a0get\u00a0any comments you may leave (via email) but I won\u2019t be able to respond to them until I return.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On a recent trip to Bear River Bird Refuge we were photographing American Avocets when I noticed some tell-tale preliminary behavior from a pair of Black-necked Stilts that told me that mating was imminent. So I set up on them and quickly changed my settings for more depth of field and almost immediately the action began. <\/p>\n