Black-winged Stilt/Scodalach Dubheiteach (Himantopus himantopus)
Shorebirds of Ireland, Freshwater Birds of Ireland and The Birds of Ireland: A Field Guide 2nd Edition with Jim Wilson.
www.markcarmodyphotography.com
The Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus) is a widely distributed very long-legged wader in the avocet and stilt family (Recurvirostridae).They have long pink legs, a long thin black bill and are blackish above and white below, with a white head and neck with a varying amount of black. Males have a black back, often with greenish gloss. Females' backs have a brown hue, contrasting with the black remiges. In the populations that have the top of the head normally white at least in winter, females tend to have less black on head and neck all year round, while males often have much black, particularly in summer. This difference is not clear-cut, however, and males usually get all-white heads in winter.
Immature birds are grey instead of black and have a markedly sandy hue on the wings, with light feather fringes appearing as a whitish line in flight.
The breeding habitat of all these stilts is marshes, shallow lakes and ponds. Some populations are migratory and move to the ocean coasts in winter; those in warmer regions are generally resident or short-range vagrants. In Europe, the black-winged stilt is a regular spring overshoot vagrant north of its normal range, occasionally remaining to breed in northern European countries. Pairs successfully bred in Britain in 1987, 2014, 2017, and in northern England in 2022; this is believed to be the most northerly breeding success for the black-winged stilt. (wikipedia)
The local sewage treatment settling pools near Vilamoura, Portugal hosted a lot of duck (Pochard, Red-crested Pochard, Teal, Tufted Duck, Mallard), Dabchicks, Common Sandpipers, and Black-winged Stilt . I was delighted to see this small party while on a family holiday in Portugal in the summer of 2024. Such cool birds.
Black-winged Stilt/Scodalach Dubheiteach (Himantopus himantopus)
Shorebirds of Ireland, Freshwater Birds of Ireland and The Birds of Ireland: A Field Guide 2nd Edition with Jim Wilson.
www.markcarmodyphotography.com
The Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus) is a widely distributed very long-legged wader in the avocet and stilt family (Recurvirostridae).They have long pink legs, a long thin black bill and are blackish above and white below, with a white head and neck with a varying amount of black. Males have a black back, often with greenish gloss. Females' backs have a brown hue, contrasting with the black remiges. In the populations that have the top of the head normally white at least in winter, females tend to have less black on head and neck all year round, while males often have much black, particularly in summer. This difference is not clear-cut, however, and males usually get all-white heads in winter.
Immature birds are grey instead of black and have a markedly sandy hue on the wings, with light feather fringes appearing as a whitish line in flight.
The breeding habitat of all these stilts is marshes, shallow lakes and ponds. Some populations are migratory and move to the ocean coasts in winter; those in warmer regions are generally resident or short-range vagrants. In Europe, the black-winged stilt is a regular spring overshoot vagrant north of its normal range, occasionally remaining to breed in northern European countries. Pairs successfully bred in Britain in 1987, 2014, 2017, and in northern England in 2022; this is believed to be the most northerly breeding success for the black-winged stilt. (wikipedia)
The local sewage treatment settling pools near Vilamoura, Portugal hosted a lot of duck (Pochard, Red-crested Pochard, Teal, Tufted Duck, Mallard), Dabchicks, Common Sandpipers, and Black-winged Stilt . I was delighted to see this small party while on a family holiday in Portugal in the summer of 2024. Such cool birds.