Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus)

Black-necked Stilts [probable pair]: Photograph Credit: Carol D. Williams; Vaughn Lane, DeKalb County, Tennessee; 8 May 2004.

Abundance: Occasional; 3 Regional records, 1 in each of 2 Tennessee counties and 1 in 1 Kentucky county (Map of UCR Distribution); data from the Regional bird-monitoring efforts are too few to determine a trend in the population migrating through the Region (see also Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).

Status: Transient during spring (3 records); photographs (see above and links below).

Regional High Count: 2 (see below).

Information on Records: 

8 May 2004 (2—probable pair) Vaughn Lane, DeKalb County, Tennessee (Judy C. Fuson, Carol D. Williams photo (above); Fuson and Williams 2004).

29 April 2006 (1—adult female) near Bud Tanner Rd., Cumberland County, Tennessee (Joseph E. Mast photo, Anita F. Mast; Knight 2006c).

11 May 2017 (2) Loveless Rd., Science Hill, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton photo and eBird#36733605).

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: No registrations.

Habitat: Usually found in areas with extensive mudflats, but apparently able to use fairly small sites during migration; the first Regional record involved two stilts foraging in shallow water around the edge of a very small ( c. 0.1 hectare) farm pond located < 5 m from a secondary road (Fuson and Williams 2004), while the second record involved one stilt that stopped over at a fairly small farm pond in a largish pasture (Knight 2006c).

Remarks: Two individuals of this species were noted in Cocke County, Tennessee, on the same day as the individuals noted in 2004 (above), suggesting a minor migratory wave, possibly of birds leaving the vicinity of Florida and headed for west Tennessee, where this species is a regular breeder.

Check-lists of Birds for the Counties of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of each county of the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed by clicking on the links below. For each county, there are two check-lists: one list that shows the species that have been observed and where possible documented in the county within the larger list for the entire Region; and one list that includes only the species observed in the county with annotations for the date and observers for at least one sighting (the ultimate goal of the latter list will be to include annotations for the very first known Regional observation of each species in that county; this goal is probably one that will take many years to complete, if completion is even a possibility). To see if the species discussed in this species account has been observed in a county, click below or click on the link for the Map of UCR Distribution near the top of the page.

Check-lists of Birds for Some Public Access Birding Sites of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of some public access birding sites within the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed via the links below. To see if the species dealt with in this species account has been observed within any of these sites, click on the appropriate link below. See the pages for each county within the Gazetteer for links to additional smaller public access birding sites with check-lists in progress.

Literature Cited