7 May 2026

Black-necked stilts (Himantopus mexicanus) are delicate-looking shorebirds that, according to official range maps, are absent in eastern North America other than the Atlantic coast. However, they are so raucous that it’s hard not to notice them at Howard Marsh in Curtice, Ohio.

The stilts first showed up in northwestern Ohio in 2004 and have returned annually for more than 20 years. Since they were already in the area, they immediately found Howard Marsh Metropark as soon as it was completed in 2018.

Their official range map says they aren’t here, but eBird sightings for the past 10 years say otherwise.

The Wikimedia map agrees with Cornell Lab’s All About Birds

Not only are they present, they are nesting. This one is incubating at Howard Marsh.

How do they hide their eggs on such a brown substrate? The eggs are dark olive with mottled black markings.

They must be doing well because they keep coming back. Like American white pelicans, black-necked stilts have made a new home in northwestern Ohio.