Tuesday, June 15, 2010

attempts to protect the killdeer eggs

We have a great many killdeer who nest around the church. If you're not familiar with them, they're interesting birds! They nest on the ground, right out in the open -- usually among rocks or gravel. The parent birds absolutely freak out if you go near the nest, and they put on a big "wounded bird, come and get me" show to try and draw you away from the nest.

This year, we had a pair lay 4 eggs right outside the front door of the church. Our administrator found them, and has been trying to protect them until they hatch. This is vacation Bible school week, so that's a bigger job than one might think!

Thought I'd show you a few pictures!







Lastly -- note the kids' attempts to please mama-bird by sharing their Goldfish crackers. :)

2 comments:

Rachel L said...

Thanks for the pictures! I saw the big sign but tried to keep away to not add any more panic to the parents! I saw them limping around. The signs and the goldfish make me laugh. I never would have seen the eggs if you hadn't posted the picture. I wonder when they will hatch. After Friday, I hope!

Darlene! said...

Great photos! I think I would do the same if I was allowed to. I worry so much about these birds. They deal with so many predators that they don't need humans to add to their troubles.

Cute about the goldfish crackers, though.

The killdeer at my local lake actually eat some of the duck and bird feed that people feed the other birds. Two of them have gotten so fat! I never thought I would see a fat killdeer in my life, but I have now see two of them.