killdeer

[Greylady1966]

Last summer we had a pair of killdeer make a nest in the middle of our gravel driveway. Coming home one day I saw one of them leading me away by pretending to have a broken wing. I have seen that on our gravel road but never up close. Amazing. We saw she had a nest with eggs so we but up sawhorses, called our garbage pickup and told them we'd call when we were done with our "construction." Everyone coming to our house was asked to drive thru the front yard instead of the driveway. I watched them from the house with my binoculars and left a small pan of water about 5 foot away. At first when I would drive by she would get out and drag her wing. It didn't take long before she got used to me coming home or leaving. One morning I did my check and they were gone. It was an amazing thing to witness..

 

[expressmailtome]

Has she returned this year?

 

[Greylady1966]

I haven't seen her yet but I did notice a pair in the taller weeds across the road.

 

[Dartman]

Accidentally destroyed a ground dwellers nest many years ago at my old house. Mama took off running dragging a wing and I captured the baby and put him in our half barrel of strawberries to be safe, plus topped him off with baby formula. Mom fed him all night and he was gone in the morning but I heard him calling in the high weeds all summer so think he and they did OK. Showing mama him before I put him in the barrel was funny because she stopped and looked with her wing down, screamed at me, but she remembered and took care of him till he jumped out.

 

[Greylady1966]

That's cute! One day while I was watching them the male was pacing in circles around the nest while the female was screaming at him non-stop. I hate to admit it but she kind of resembled how I must look to my husband when he doesn't listen to me!