Today's bird observers in Ohio should look at relatively recent
records, as in Peterjohn's The Birds of Ohio, where you will see how
rare this species once was in Ohio.
        Readers of this list, and of the Ohio Cardinal, will know that
observations of black-necked stilts have spiked in recent years, with an
attempted nesting here at Big Island WA in 2005, and successful nesting
this summer in Seneca County. This year, stilts have been found in pairs
in Ohio (three times), and regionally in Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois,
Wisconsin, and Michigan, with several established nesting records,
documenting a clearly new presence in the region.
        Today, reliable observers found four b-n stilts in a back area of
Ottawa NWR. They appeared to be two male/female pairs. They were in
Ottawa Co, but a very short flight would have put them in Lucas Co. The
big question is: might these be the two pairs seen in Seneca/Sandusky
counties in recent weeks? I have heard no reports of the latter this
week. Has anyone seen stilts in Seneca/Sandusky today or yesterday? The
pair that successfully bred at P. Mouillee in Michigan has young, but no
young accompanied the ONWR birds.
        It seems this species is on the move, and we can help make sense of
this range expansion by keeping track of its movement in Ohio. Please
let everyone know if you see birds anywhere in the state, with details
about numbers, sexes, etc. This is a review species, and such reports
should go to the Ohio Bird Records Committee as well as to publications.
Thanks,
Bill Whan
Columbus

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