adult Killdeer

Killdeer is easily the most common breeding wader in Washington. They nest anywhere there is a patch of stony ground to hide their nest. This bird was nesting in the corner of a gravel parking lot on the edge of a wildlife reserve on Dodson Road, near Royal City. Fortunately the nest is tucked away in a corner so the probability of it being driven over or stepped on is fairly small. Killdeer are usually quite shy and very excitable however this pair while wary, were used to people walking around close to their nest. As I parked the car the female flew in to relieve the male who was sitting on their clutch of two eggs. I quietly got out of the car so the scope could rest on the ground. I have tried to photograph birds before from inside but I can never keep still enough and the pictures always come out slightly blurred. Rather than start incubating the eggs immediately the birds quietly moved away from the nest with the female (pictured above) sitting down occasionally to give the appearance that she was brooding (a non-existent) clutch of eggs. Such 'false-brooding' is a common distraction behaviour by waders to lead potential predators away from the nest. Other tactics are to mob the predator and create as much commotion as possible to try and distract it from looking for eggs or chicks. However the most elaborate display is to feign a broken wing and offer the possibility of an easy meal. Plovers in the Charadrius and Pluvialus families do this very well. The bird will sit on the ground or run around flapping one wing slowly in the air while giving a distress call. Once having attracted the predator's attention the bird will cleverly lead it away from the next or chicks. Once at a safe distance the bird will be miraculously healed and will take off, leaving the confused and hungry animal behind.

Although not overly alarmed the Killdeer were giving soft alarm calls which attracted the attention of a black-necked stilt which was nesting at the edge of the reeds a few metres away. The bird flew over and landed right in the middle of the parking lot. Usually stilts are walking around in long grass or water however this picture gives you an idea of just how long those legs are. I was surprised to see that they don't have particularly long toes to help them keep their balance.