Russell and Tweeters,

Black-necked Stilts west of the Cascades in Washington are certainly a
very unusual bird, but perhaps not quite as unexpected as Russell's
lack of records would suggest.

In the Vancouver, BC area, between 1971 and 1988, there were 9 records
of Black-necked Stilt. Five of these occurred in 1987, between April
15 and May 4, when stilts were seen at the Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Iona
Island, Serpentine Fen, and at Gilbert Beach and the now-defunct
Lansdowne Marsh in Richmond (Lulu Island). Up to 13 stilts were seen
at Reifel in 1987. However, stilts were also documented at Sea Island
in 1971 and again in 1974, Reifel in 1981 (3 birds), and Serpentine
Fen in 1988.

There have also been several stilt reports in the 1990s, although I
don't have the details handy. I would say that stilts seem to show up
at Vancouver in spring migration at least once every 3 or 4 years (all
records have been in April and May), and I would expect a similar
status in western Washington.

Wayne C. Weber
Kamloops and Delta, BC
contopus at home.com