This gallery contains 4 photos.
Each spring one (or more) killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) pair use our gravel driveway to lay their eggs. Killdeer build scrape nests, which are a simple depression on the ground with minimal lining where the female killdeer lays her buff eggs, … Continue reading
This gallery contains 3 photos.
Over two days the four killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) eggs in the scrape nest located on our driveway (Modoc County CA) hatched. I was surprised to see the early hatchlings wander about near the mother while she continued to incubate the … Continue reading
The female killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) on the nest in our driveway is accustomed to Leonard and me and will usually not respond when we walk nearby. However, on rare occasions she will decide to perform her “broken-wing display” to lure … Continue reading
Kildeer (Charadrius vociferus) make “scrape” nests in open habitat. The male kildeer scrapes or scratches a shallow depression with its feet. The female lays eggs in the bare scrape. Only after the eggs are laid will the killdeer add a … Continue reading
Although I often find and observe killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) nests, the chicks always manage to hatch when I am not around or gone for the day. My friend, Rockie, has monitored a killdeer nest near the Lookout Post Office (Modoc … Continue reading
This gallery contains 4 photos.
A scrape nest is simply a slight (emphasize slight) depression on the ground in which the eggs are laid with little or no bedding material. Camouflage, of both the birds and eggs, is used to protect the nest. The killdeer … Continue reading
This gallery contains 3 photos.
Leonard and I found an area in the McArthur Swamp (Shasta County CA) where long-billed curlews (Numenius americanus) are nesting. Usually we see them in flight, so it was most exciting to find the curlews on the ground. This largest of … Continue reading
