A strongly territorial bird, Black-Necked Stilts aggressively defend their nesting areas and their chicks. This Mama bird was protectively watching over her birds when a Red-Winged Blackbird repeatedly intruded into the Stilts’ territory.
Each time, Mama would take off and chase the Blackbird until it would retreat to a far corner of the impoundment.
Then she would glide back in to watch over her babies once again, only to repeat the exercise when the tenacious Blackbird would get too close.
As the Blackbird would fly away, Mama would relax as she returned to her chicks.
The chicks didn’t seem the least bit alarm by Mama’s forays around the marsh.
They simply continued feeding in the flooded grassy areas. The adult Stilts will remain with their chicks in their breeding areas until the chicks are capable of sustained flight, usually when they’re around a month old. By the end of July, the Stilts will begin congregating together to prepare for their long migration back to Central and South America.