Recently I was out at a friend’s farm and had the experience of finding a killdeer’s nest in her gravel driveway!
These cute little birds look a bit like a bird that would be found near the seashore. They tend to nest in the fields and as you can see, the eggs look very much like their surrounding. This protects them from potential predators since they aren’t easily seen. But, if danger threatens, the killdeer has a reputation for putting on quite a show. She will run away from her nest to get you to chase her away from the nest. When she runs away,she will flop over on her side and look like an injured bird. She drops her wings, to make it look like her wings are broken in an attempt to get the threat to chase her rather than disturb her nest. Since the nest is relatively exposed and easy to find if you know where to look, this is her strategy to protect the future generation.
So if you go out and about on a little nature walk, you may find yourself enjoying the show a killdeer will put on when you are near her nest. Enjoy the show, but try not to disturb the nest so future actors can put on a show!
