Nesting Killdeer
Last week, I wrote about the diminutive and disguised nests of the Anna's Hummingbird. March is nesting season for many resident birds in California's Great Central Valley, and hummingbirds are certainly not the only birds that go to great lengths to hide their nests from predators.
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) are a familiar species to many birders and non-birders alike across the United States. The cry of the Killdeer is a plaintive and distinctive call heard across open ground from coast to coast, and you may be acquainted with the sight of these beautiful plovers scurrying across the ground in wild as well as suburban areas.
Killdeer inhabit a wide variety of open spaces, from rural fields and mudflats to urban lawns and gravel parking lots. They are opportunistic foragers, feeding on invertebrates like worms, snails, beetles and larvae, as well as seeds and even the odd frog or fish, if the opportunity presents itself.
Because they are adaptable to a wide range of habitat and food sources, killdeer have been relatively successful in the face of change. But living in such close proximity to humans is not without its risks, and birds are susceptible to collisions (with cars as well as buildings), pesticide poisoning, and nest disturbance.
Like most other shorebirds, killdeer are ground-nesting birds. Nesting sites are on open ground, such as areas of short grass, bare soil or gravel. (Gravel roads, parking lots, canal banks and even rooftops seem to be favorite nesting sites in our area.) While water is not always present, nests seem to be more successful when placed near a shallow water source, which offers good feeding areas for newly hatched chicks.
Nest building consists of little more than creating a shallow scrape in the ground, roughly three inches in diameter. Pebbles, sticks, shell and other bits of debris may be added as a nest lining. Typically, four heavily blotched eggs are laid, and both parents take turns incubating them for 22 to 28 days. In California's warm climate, a killdeer pair may raise two or even three broods in a season.
The eggs look remarkably like small rocks, and are well-camouflaged in their open habitat. To this disguise, killdeer parents add one more trick to deter predators. Killdeer parents commonly feign a broken wing, fluttering helplessly along the ground in the opposite direction from the nest. This ploy serves to lure would-be predators away from the nest and even fools many human intruders!
If you hear the distinctive cry of the killdeer (learn the sound here or here) or see one of these beautiful birds scurrying or fluttering on the ground, be aware that a nest could be near by. And then watch your step! Nests are fragile, and just as with their threatened cousin the Snowy Plover, a careless human could easily destroy a clutch of eggs, by stepping on or running over them, and never even notice. Keep an eye out especially along gravel pathways, driveways, roads and parking lots, where the small nest of speckled eggs disappears effortlessly into the rocks.
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) are a familiar species to many birders and non-birders alike across the United States. The cry of the Killdeer is a plaintive and distinctive call heard across open ground from coast to coast, and you may be acquainted with the sight of these beautiful plovers scurrying across the ground in wild as well as suburban areas.
Killdeer inhabit a wide variety of open spaces, from rural fields and mudflats to urban lawns and gravel parking lots. They are opportunistic foragers, feeding on invertebrates like worms, snails, beetles and larvae, as well as seeds and even the odd frog or fish, if the opportunity presents itself.
Because they are adaptable to a wide range of habitat and food sources, killdeer have been relatively successful in the face of change. But living in such close proximity to humans is not without its risks, and birds are susceptible to collisions (with cars as well as buildings), pesticide poisoning, and nest disturbance.
Like most other shorebirds, killdeer are ground-nesting birds. Nesting sites are on open ground, such as areas of short grass, bare soil or gravel. (Gravel roads, parking lots, canal banks and even rooftops seem to be favorite nesting sites in our area.) While water is not always present, nests seem to be more successful when placed near a shallow water source, which offers good feeding areas for newly hatched chicks.
Nest building consists of little more than creating a shallow scrape in the ground, roughly three inches in diameter. Pebbles, sticks, shell and other bits of debris may be added as a nest lining. Typically, four heavily blotched eggs are laid, and both parents take turns incubating them for 22 to 28 days. In California's warm climate, a killdeer pair may raise two or even three broods in a season.
The eggs look remarkably like small rocks, and are well-camouflaged in their open habitat. To this disguise, killdeer parents add one more trick to deter predators. Killdeer parents commonly feign a broken wing, fluttering helplessly along the ground in the opposite direction from the nest. This ploy serves to lure would-be predators away from the nest and even fools many human intruders!
If you hear the distinctive cry of the killdeer (learn the sound here or here) or see one of these beautiful birds scurrying or fluttering on the ground, be aware that a nest could be near by. And then watch your step! Nests are fragile, and just as with their threatened cousin the Snowy Plover, a careless human could easily destroy a clutch of eggs, by stepping on or running over them, and never even notice. Keep an eye out especially along gravel pathways, driveways, roads and parking lots, where the small nest of speckled eggs disappears effortlessly into the rocks.
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