Birders,

In case some of you missed it, two BLACK-NECKED STILTS (plus one
AMERICAN AVOCET) were reported on the WOS BirdBox on April 25 at
Crockett Lake on Whidbey I. (Island County) by Steve Mlodinow et al.

Yesterday, April 30, two STILTS were seen along 152nd Street in
Surrey, B.C., for the first sighting this year in the Vancouver, BC
area.

However, this pales compared to the number of stilts being reported in
southern Alberta. On April 29, 48 (!) stilts were seen by Ian Halladay
at Langdon Slough, near Calgary. On the 28th, 29th, and 30th, a total
of 47 stilts were reported at 3 different locations near Brooks,
Alberta (Malcolm McDonald). Although stilts occur most years in
extreme southern Alberta, these numbers are extremely high.

Past invasions of Black-necked Stilts (e.g. the major invasion of
1977, which brought large numbers to eastern Washington for the first
time) have been associated with drought conditions and low water
levels in the main stilt breeding range (California, Nevada, Utah,
etc.). I'm not sure to what extent that is true this year, but it will
be interesting when all these occurrences are tied together and linked
with weather patterns.

Meanwhile, stilt fever (not to be confused with stint fever!!)
continues.

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