Friday, July 4, 2014

Adventures in Birding

I LOVE killdeer!!
These are the funniest little birds.
They show up at our house in the spring. .
With their funny long legs. .
their distinct coloring. .
and their promise that a change of season is on the way!!
Devin and Cami were taking a cruise in the golf cart about 3 weeks ago or so. .
and SAW these little eggs on the ground. .
When they were telling me about them, I knew IMMEDIATELY what they were talking about!
After some research, I learned that killdeer eggs take 21-28 days to hatch.
Every morning that I walked. .
I played a game of cat and mouse with the parents of the eggs.
I walk right by the little nest lined with tiny stones. .
And about 20 feet from that, the parent would run out of the tall grass. .
and start and stop the rest of the 50 yards to the highway where I turned.
I had always heard about the antic that they are famous for. .
but had never seen it myself. .
until recently.
Killdeer will feign a broken wing. .
to get the attention of anyone that has gotten too close to their nest. .
And "lure" you with their flapping and spastic movements. .
And sometimes their squawking.
This mama did the whole flapping the wing thing. .
But as I proceeded to move one step closer to see those little eggs. .
She hollered at me. .
And I gave it up so as not to stress her out.
When the kids and I got back from my mom's last Sunday. .
I wandered out to the nest (I had been checking it every day, since I knew the hatching would take place soon). .
And here is what I found. .
Four perfect looking, sleepy little killdeer.
They were still there Monday morning when I walked. .
But they have all gone since then. I imagine they are still around here. .
What an AWESOME thing to watch!
We were going to have baby blue birds too. .
This daddy was getting ready to feed the female, whom I saw when I put my eye up to the hole!!
The sparrows started hanging out around the nest though. .
And I am not sure that they didn't get in and ruin the eggs.
The bluebirds are still here. .
But they aren't around that nest box anymore. .
GRR!
The only other bird excitement. .
Is watching these girls and boys wander around through the yard.
Devin's chicken flock. .
continues to spend their days hunting bugs. .
and laying eggs!!
Not sure that he will be able to show any of the hens at the fair. .
Most of them have a feather issue on their backs. .
that apparently is not some "chicken thing" like I thought. .
but rather a ROOSTER induced thing!!
I understand the birds and the bees quite well in the human world. .
But am still figuring out the BIRD world!
Oh well. .
Live and learn, right??
Have a GREAT 4th of July weekend!!

6 comments:

  1. Oh, those baby Kildeer are sweet--Lucky you getting to see them!

    As for the "rooster induced THINK"--I laughed when I saw someone SELLING little "coats" to put on your hens to protect their backs. LOL! What will they think of next!

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  2. Oh my gosh what cute little babies!!! I know they are pests, but I love love LOVE the barn swallows that take resident up in the barn at the farm. I always check the nests when we are out there.

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  3. Oh, how wonderful that you got to see the newly hatched killdeer, still in the nest. I've been able to see the nest and the wing display to try to distract potential predators, but I've never actually seen the newly hatched chicks!

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  4. I don't think I've ever seen killdeer! What an awesome experience to watch that process! And I LOVE seeing the chickens. I'm SUCH a fan of chickens!

    Hope you've had a great 4th!

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  5. My husband and I just LOVE birds of all kinds, watching and learning about them both at our home and when we're in other places. Isn't it wonderful all the things that can be learned about them. But I like chickens, too... I have a whole kitchen decorated with them as the theme! :)

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  6. I love killdeer. My dad told me about the broken wing trick when I was a kid and I would wander around in the pasture watching where they came from when they started this act to find their nests. But, I don't ever remember finding little chicks like you. Precious. I always found eggs. What a great photo of the nest.

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