We have had some resident Killdeer here at our ranch that every year we try to protect their nests from their own poor planning. For anyone who doesn't know about Killdeer, they build their nests in the ground at risk from being trampled by animals and too easily accessible to predators.
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| Killdeer |
Every morning when I left for work a Killdeer was carrying on as they do in front of my car so we knew there must be a nest nearby. So last weekend we went looking for it around the driveway and found it in a very precarious spot in the gravel in the middle of the driveway. Amazing I hadn't driven over it!
To protect their nests Killdeer will try to draw any prey away from the eggs by skuawking, carrying on, running away from the nest and acting like they are wounded.
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| Killdeer guarding nest |
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| Killdeer broken wing routine |
Both parents work to take care of the nest and ward off any predators.
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| Killdeer parents drawing attention away from the nest |
We've tried many things over the years finding their nests in dangerous spots to try to help them survive. When they build them in the paddocks with the alpacas we have put stakes around them so they are not accidently trampled. With it in the middle of our driveway this year we have put a big rock by it so we don't accidently drive over it. You can see in the pictures the Killdeer blend into the environment very well. So do their eggs, especially when they are laying in gravel.
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| Killdeer on nest next to protective rock |
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| Killdeer eggs blending very well in the gravel |
Four eggs is usually the max. When we discovered the nest there was only one, making us feel pretty good we discovered it before it got crushed by a vehicle coming in or out. Then we watched them accumulate 1 egg per day. Now we wait for the hatchlings. Stay tuned....
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| Killdeer wanting us to follow and stay away from those precious eggs! |
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