These images of Black-necked Stilts were captured in the early morning, just after dawn, at the entrance to the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge near Alviso, California. The stilts, American Avocets and many other species of shorebirds were busy capturing their breakfast in the calm waters and along the shoreline. The stilts, like the avocets, are great fun to watch; their long, gangly legs and long bills make them superbly suited to wade through the water and capture their food. And their ability to sleep while balancing on one leg, although not unusual for a bird, always gets my attention because of the extreme proportions of those legs compared to their body.