Black-Winged Stilt

We've seen black-winged stilts before, in Sri Lanka, and I blogged about them here. In Sri Lanka we saw the subspecies H. h. meridionalus. In Portugal, in the Tagus and Sado Estuaries, we saw the other subspecies, H. h. himantopus. I've seen lots of black-necked stilts in the U.S. and I've never experienced stilts like we did in Portugal. We saw them nesting (sitting on eggs), with young chicks and juveniles. I was also able to get some good flying photos, something I've been unable to do in the U.S., mostly because these stilts would fly overhead to chastise us, giving lots of photo opportunities. 

Flying...

Nesting...

With baby chicks...

Juveniles...

Thy have white heads in winter and get black on their heads in the summer. One above, right of center, has some black on its head.