Exotic stilts find love in Norfolk

A pair of black-winged stilts have bred for the first time at a wildlife centre.

The unusual wading birds, which are normally found around the Mediterranean, had nested at the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust’s centre in Welney, Norfolk. The birds have made a handful of nesting attempts in the UK in recent decades when their usual breeding areas are drier than normal.

Black-winged stilts are striking insect-eating birds with black and white plumage, a thin black bill and long, spindly red legs.

The Lady Fen area where they have settled has also provided the perfect habitat for many other wetland species including black-tailed godwit, snipe, shoveler, common tern and avocet.

Surveillance by workers on the site has helped the stilts avoid disturbance from egg collectors. Now the parents must do their best to protect their chicks from predators.

Samantha Herbert