Mating and Mating Dance of the Black Winged Stilts

The black winged stilts have one of the most beautiful mating ritual, I completely fell in love with them when I first saw it. During my photography trip at Lake Neusiedler in Spring 2019 I was lucky, and I could take some pictures of this beautiful mating ritual. Before these birds mate they have a very nice and beautiful dance they perform and if you are lucky enough to see it you probably also agree with me that this is probably one of the most beautiful rituals in the animal world.

This first pictures shows part of the dance the two birds perform before mating. Unfortunately this mating dance only last a few seconds and you really need to be lucky to take a picture of it like I was.

Beautiful mating dance of the black winged stilts. Picture: Florian Glechner.

After the Dance moves the female bird stretches and waits for the male bird to jump on its back for the actual act of mating. This looks a bit funny, but it also only last a few seconds and then everything is over. So it is pretty difficult and rare to be able to take a picture of the exact moment of this ritual, and I am glad that I was able to witness it and even could take several pictures of it. I hope I can see this once again some time soon. I want to visit Lake Neusiedler this spring again but due to the COVID 19 Regulations I am not sure when I will be able to get accommodation for 1 weekend at least. Because one Way 300 Kilometers or nearly 3 hours in the car is a bit long when you have to drive home the same day. Possible but too less time for photography.

Mating of two black winged stilts. Picture: Florian Glechner.

Male and female black winged stilts having sex. Picture: Florian Glechner.