This kildeer (aka kildee) put her nest right by the gatepost to the barnyard at our friends' Rachel and Stan's farm.
I'm not sure whether to call it just "not a great spot" or simply evidence that this kildeer has always relied on the kindness of strangers.
At one point one of the horses opened a gate from the pasture and let the whole herd into the barnyard. We hurried to contain them again, for fear the great lummoxi would crush the nest. So maybe she has it all figured out. For example, she had the good judgment to live absolutely nowhere near George W. Bush.
When we first arrived, she was doing the usual broken-wing distraction routine. Later, we couldn't get her to leave the nest and perform this show for the camera. The sun was blazing (hence the harsh shadows), and perhaps she was unwilling to leave her eggs to roast.
I have watched these birds all my life, and have never been this close to one with such leisure. And I've only rarely found the nest. You do see the eggs under her, yes?
I never knew what extraordinary eyes they have.
And I could curl up and go to sleep on her tail feathers.
Nice shots and a lucky bird!
ReplyDeleteP
These nest all over my farm (western MA), including the farm yard, in the gravel where the trailers come through. We flag them and teh drivers drive around them:) All summer long they entertain us. I usualy find 6 to 8 nests a season. I think they are the cutest little birds.
ReplyDeletejake
Hah, perilous nest indeed.
ReplyDeleteWe once found a killdeer nest on the bank of a large river in Oregon- about 5 feet from the waterline. What criteria did she use to pick *that* spot? There was a least an acre of identical gravel but she put it perilously close to the water.
Such a cool blog! I am learning so much. I especially love your description of yourself under HOST. Hilarious. I am excited to meet you and read your informative posts often. Please meet my Africa sometime!
ReplyDeleteKasha and Africa
http://www.trainingboerboels.blogspot.com/
We have killdeer at the high school football field near my house. I hear them when I walk the dog at night and sometime catch a glimpse of one darting across the field on those long legs. They can really move!
ReplyDeleteI no longer live in an area that has the habitat they prefer. But I grew up in one that did. The chicks are the coolest - cotton balls on toothpicks that can outrun most anything within a day or so of hatching.
ReplyDeleteeli
I always felt that kildeer depended on the gullibility of strangers.
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