January 30, 20215 yr Today's bird id the killdeer. It's a shore bird. Marshbirds are the long legged critters like the herons I posted a couple of weeks ago. Shorebirds are the short legged birds that run around the shores of lakes and ponds and wade in shallower water. The killdeer is quite common at the refuge. This first two pictures show a killdeer standing and one in flight. The third picture is of a killdeer nest. They build their nests in gravel and rocky areas. They posed a problem at the refuge because they would nest in the gravel roads around the refuge ponds and they would get run over by cars. We had to be on the watch for them as we drove around during our bird counts and other refuge chores. I suggested once that we put up little red flags near the nests to alert us as we drove by. The biologist told me they tried that but the coyotes being so curious would spot the flags and go down to investigate them. In any case some of the nests were destroyed by passing cars and trucks. The last picture shows a killdeer faking injury and hopping away from the nest to draw you attention away from it. That happened to me frequently when I was walking along the road or shoreline looking for birds to photograph. Noel The tires are worn. The shocks are shot. The steering is wobbly. But the engine still runs fine.
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