The Killdeer have returned to Lake of the Lilies...
or let's just say that this is the first time I have seen them this season.
The Killdeer is a noisy, long legged plover.
The males and females are similar and have long wings, long tales and two black neck bands.
It's bill is long and slender, and the legs are pale.
The Killdeer pictured here is sitting on the babies in the nest.
Surprisingly to me,
the nest was built on a front lawn of rocks.
Here he/she is up and the babies are running around.
The chicks were extremely quick as plovers are know to be, and so difficult to photograph.
It is very difficult to imagine or realize just how tiny they were...
here one of the chicks is just to the right of what I believe is the female,
nudging their way under her and in to the nest.
Here both chicks are in the nest, under the Killdeer pictured.
I think the keeper of the nest got a little annoyed with my continued antics,
yep, looking pretty annoyed...
She sent the male off to the neighbors yard to distract me from the nest.
Where he is faking injury with a "broken wing display",
which is used to distract the attention of predators (me) away from the nest.
It worked with me but can be fatal with other predators!
The love between these two was undeniable, such a sweet "cuddle"!
There were two chicks...
the Killdeer usually lay a clutch of 4 - 6 eggs, I assume the others have been lost to predators.
This was a very fun photo shoot for me, I did a lot of research and I learned a lot!
Sharing today with
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23 comments:
Kudos to you, Debbie, for taking the time to learn about this most common of plovers. Given you interest in birds, I highly recommend a visit to Delaware Bay next May for the arrival of the Red Knots, Ruddy Turnstones and other sandpipers. i am sure you would enjoy the spectacle and it is probably not far for you to travel.
many thanks david, i will put that on next years bucket list, delaware bay is not very far for me. i read on line the killdeer was the most common, but in my area, i do not see this plover as often as i see the others.
Hello, These are awesome shots of the Killdeer. The baby is so cute, adorable photos. Great critter post. Thanks for linking up and sharing your post. Happy Saturday, enjoy your day and weekend. PS, thank you for leaving me a comment on my blog.
Hi Debbie. Well didn't you do a great photo shoot with those little babies! I loved it. I've never seen baby killdeer and there you are lucky enough to have them in your yard!
Oh my goodness...there is nothing else cuter than a baby Killdeer! My hubby is looking at your photos to and we are remembering seeing one years ago and doing the broken wing display. How amazing these birds are! Great photos! That baby is SO tiny!!!
Great pictures of the killdeer. Those little guys are so cute.
Very pretty birds...
Precious chicks and perfect photos. It is amazing how the parents work to protect the babies. Love this post, Debbie.
Oh Debbie these are fabulous photographs of the Killdeer and the chicks.
All the best Jan
I learnt a lot too, Debbie, thank you. What a strange place to build a nest and have babies. Those babies are so cute. Fabulous photos....you are one patient photographer.
These are great pics! I love the wee babies!
How awesome! Beautiful photos! I'm so glad you were able to see the little ones! They're really cute!
I learned a lot too and wow they are so sweet, love to see the little one too, you did pretty good capturing them even though they are fast, so cute.
Wow - it looks as though you visited at the perfect time. I love the male bird's antics, and it is a good thing that you weren't really a predator. When you think about it, that takes a great act of courage. The annoyed looked made me laugh out loud - you do catch some of the best expressions!
Great shots! I love the chicks!
Debbie, the chicks are so cute and all your photographs are great
I love these birds.
And yep, never gotten anything but far-off shots of them.
Always fun to do the research and we benefit from it too, so thank you for that :) Your photos of this sweet family are fantastic!
Really incredible pictures of the Killdeer.
LOVE! Great photo's again, Debbie. You're a master photographer!
xoxo
Great pics!So cute!
These shots of the Killdeer birds are spectacular. I find it very interesting that they nested in the rocks. I love their feather patterns; very unique. I especially love how they protect and nurture their young ones. The babies, of course are adorable. I had to chuckle at the photo of the one being annoyed. How you capture these personality moments, I don't know. You are amazing.
Sending loving thoughts and hugs your way!
Oh how wonderful, thank you for sharing these beautiful photos. I miss having our killdeer around here. When we first moved here in 1989 they always had nests around right smack in the center of my yard sometimes and they'd be busy singing their lovely killdeer, killdeer song.
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