Black-Necked Stilts: Off the Map for More Than 20 Years

Black-necked stilt, Marin County, CA (photo from Wikimedia Commons) 7 May 2026 Black-necked stilts (Himantopus mexicanus) are delicate-looking shorebirds that, according to official range maps, are absent in eastern North America other than the Atlantic coast. However, they are so raucous that it’s hard not to notice them at Howard Marsh in Curtice, Ohio. Black-necked stilts at Howard Marsh, Ohio, 6 May 2026 (photo by Charity Kheshgi) (Lesser yellowlegs in the background) The stilts first showed up in northwestern Ohio in 2004 and have returned annually for more than 20 years. Since they were already in the area, they immediately found Howard Marsh Metropark as soon as it was completed in 2018. Their official range map says they aren’t here, but eBird sightings for the past 10 years say otherwise. Black-necked stilt range map from Wikimedia vs. eBird sightings May-Jul 2016-2026 The Wikimedia map agrees with Cornell Lab’s All About Birds Not only are they present, they are nesting.…