Day 147: Discovery
Well, my photo of the day was not the photo I had planned, but sometimes things fall into your lap, so to speak, and take over your plans!
I’m doing this a little differently today, because my real photo of the day is at the end of the post, but I need to tell you little story (complete with photos) first.
The weather today was again lovely, so this morning before Mike took off to do some work, we were all out in the yard. Mike headed out to the fence at the edge of the front acre because he wants to plant trees there and needs to plan how to water them until they get well-established. So off the four of us went (including Melody). I was doing what I do - taking pictures - and they were wandering a bit. Then I saw this bird. And I was curious as to what kind of bird it was because although I have seen them in the neighborhood, I’d not seen one in our yard before. So I started taking photos of her that I could use to look up her species once we got back inside. She wouldn’t let me get close enough to her to get a shot without using full digital zoom, so I apologize for the poor quality.
She kept walking farther away from me, but looking back at me to see if I was following. Then she did this curious thing with her wing…
At that point I realized she was trying to distract me, but from what? I didn’t see anything anywhere around that looked like a nest. Finally, we all went in and I got online to see what I could find. I think I’ve told you this before, but WhatBird is a fantastic resource for identifying birds. Mike thought she looked like some sort of piper so I went that route, and I found out that she is a Killdeer. And that funny thing she was doing with her wing is called a “broken wing display” which they use to distract you from…their nest! I also found out that their nests are usually on the ground in plain sight, but that their eggs are colored so as to look like rocks and be camouflaged. So back outside we went so that I could find that elusive nest. When we walked back out, she was sitting on her nest, so I had a good idea of where it was. As soon as she realized I was coming that direction, she got up and took off running (they do fly, but not much, mostly they just kind of glide across the ground). I kept walking closer, and she started in with her broken wing display again. I told her I wasn’t going to hurt her eggs, I just wanted to look. And lo and behold…
I never would have noticed them if I hadn’t been looking for them, and I’m surprised we didn’t manage to step on them since we didn’t know they were there, but they survived our trek out to the front acre intact.
And now, finally, my official photo of the day…
I didn’t actually do a macro shot, because I didn’t want to get too close and freak her out too much, but I did crop this one in a lot to get a better detailed shot.
I looked out the window throughout the day and I could see her way out in the yard just sitting on her eggs. She’s a very good mommy! And I can’t wait to see the babies!
Taken May 26, 2008.
May 26th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
I was showing the kids and Mark and he and FE both started talking about the fact that THEY saw one of those birds when they were out hiking this morning! The eggs are sooooo cool!!
May 27th, 2008 at 7:51 am
I enjoyed these pictures and the story so much.
I am looking forward to seeing these eggs hatch too, thank goodness you will take pictures!
Love the last shot of the eggs, beautifully done and nice that you didn’t have to freak her out too much to get it.
May 27th, 2008 at 10:41 pm
Oh! Wonderful pictures - I recognized the kildeer right away. We had lots of them where I grew up. Before we moved to where we are now, we lived next to an outdoor hockey rink. In the summer, it was just gravel and weeds, and the girls and I would always find at least 2, but never more than 3, nests in there. We’d sometimes find the nests along some nearby, no longer used railroad tracks, too. Unfortunately, too many of the neighborhood kids would find them and end up breaking them. :-(
I think their eggs are so beautiful, and the birds themselves, fun to watch.
A.
May 29th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
oh wow, what a great series of shots. I’m looking forward to your photos showing her progress with her babies.
June 16th, 2008 at 10:01 pm
[...] Killdeer eggs are hatching! But there’s a mystery. If you remember back when I took the picture of the nest a few weeks ago, there were three eggs in the nest. And according to the kiddos who were visiting [...]