This is a Killdeer. They walk fast, and have very long legs. They also have beautiful colors. They reminded me of a Stilt I saw in Salt Lake on the Lake.
So, back to this killdeer .. we were driving into the parking area at a local nature sanctuary when I noticed her waking in front of my Mini. I wanted to share a couple interesting facts about the Killdeer. Most notably, they are ground-nesting birds that ‘hide’ their nest in the open. They use no nesting materials .. which seems crazy.
The coolest thing about this species is how they protect their young. When they sense a threat, they display this ‘broken wing’ act to lead predators away from the next.
Shortly after seeing this killbird, I rolled forward in my Mini slowly, hoping she would fly away. That was not what happened. She walked quickly, moving away from the grass, and then ‘faked’ the injury. Here she is faking the injury
I never saw the babies. I wanted to respect her space. She did fly away, and I move on quickly as to keep her stress levels low. While it’s cool, I didn’t enjoy knowing she was in a stressed situation.
~ Rick
Prints are available for many of the photos on this site on canvas, metal or glass. They are stunning and you can purchase them for a wall at home. Click the link or the ‘prints and such’ tab.
©2018 Rick Cartwright
