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Inspiring and Supporting Photographers of Australian Birds

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Pied Stilt

Pied Stilt (Image ID 45595)
Photographed byMichael Hamel-Green on Fri 26th Mar, 2021 and uploaded on Mon 5th Apr, 2021 .
Resolution1800x1072
Viewed273
ID45595
CommentThis White-headed Stilt was caught emerging from what seems like a whirlpool in a saline pool close to the Little River Hide. No doubt it had been probing in the mud for a mollusc or insect, so triggering expanding ripples as it came up from the water. Their long legs might appear to make them ungainly but they certainly won over John Gould when he first saw them in the mid-1800s: “I never saw a bird which combined more grace of movement and elegance of appearance than the White-headed Stilt” (“Birds of Australia”). They can be quite vocal in their yelping, are known to vigorously defend their chicks, and, even to feign a broken leg to divert the attention of a predator. It seems that long before some of the leaders of our own human species hit on the idea of diverting their constituencies from real problems (eg climate change) by focussing on exaggerated “threats” to borders or the economy, White-headed Stilts knew how to engage in diversionary tactics. But in their case it was for a good cause, protecting their young, rather than the very opposite. At breeding time, White-headed Stilts will, no doubt, be making plenty of ripples…and perhaps we have something to learn from them about how to ensure our own offspring have a liveable future
EquipmentNikonZ7ii Nikon 300mm f4 PF TC1.4 420mm ISO 1000 1/5000th f7.1 Monopod
LocationWerribee Treatment Plant, Werribee, Victoria
Keywordsadult
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