BIRDS Killdeer

It is mid-May at the lake and once again Dick and Donna's pebble garden around the birch tree has become the nesting destination for the Killdeer where one can not tell the difference between the 3 to 4 eggs and the rocks.

One can see by the first picture the chicks look much like their parent, only smaller, as they are nearly hidden in the grass. Mother displayed the broken wing theory to us to keep us away from her charges, we did not go closer.

They are cute little birds who run around, almost amok to us as humans but what they are doing is eating insects, most likely they see and hear them. One can hear them calling "kill -deah" in a high pitched voice.

Male killdeers claim nesting territory before selecting a mate. To attract a mate, the male will stand in his territory and make a two-note call for hours at a time. The male may also scrape at the ground and fly over his territory.

Once killdeer have mated, the pair will scrape out a nesting site. The female killdeer lays an average of four eggs. Both the male and the female incubate the eggs. It takes about 24-28 days for the eggs to hatch.The chicks are precocial, that means they can move around and feed themselves shortly after birth. Once the chicks' down dries, the parents will lead them to a feeding area. The chicks stay with their parents until they fledge a month after birth.

What do you think of those eyebrows?

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