Black-necked stilts

Black-necked stilts are seen here at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Complex in Willows, Calif. In Bransford’s fields, black-necked stilts, avocets and mallards raise their young. To help them, he creates higher ground above the flooded fields for nesting, and mows the field edges only after they nest. In the fall, after harvest, Bransford floods his fields again for migrating and wintering birds. Photo by John Heil, USFWS.