15-5-2015 EBRO DELTA, TARRAGONA - BLACK WINGED STILT (Himantopus himantopus)

This graceful long-legged wader used to be a rare passage visitor to Britain, but is now considered a colonising breeder.

With its striking black and white plumage, long bill, and red legs this species evokes the feeling of its Mediterranean home when it is found delicately wading through a lagoon, picking small insects off the water’s surface.

Breeding was first recorded in 1945 (in Nottinghamshire) but we now see a handful of breeding attempts in most years, mostly in southern England, so this species could yet become an established breeder. The reasons for this are unclear, but warming temperatures and improved water quality in our wetlands probably contribute.