This Week's Crops and Clips: Killdeer

These noisy and active plovers nest every spring along the edge of the gravel road that leads into our local wetland birding patch.

This adult posed on the pavement in the parking lot at Chapel Trail Nature Center in neighboring Pembroke Pines.



This pair was courting  along the shore of the lake in our wetland patch.



An interloper, on the left,  suddenly appeared and made a threat display by expanding the black band on his throat, but he was subsequently chased away.



This pair was engaged in a courtship display in our Illinois front yard before the bulldozers came.



As we walk past their nest sites, the Killdeers perform distraction displays to draw us away from the eggs or young.





I photographed this nest with eggs at the edge of a garden in Batavia, Illinois. There is the appearance of a nest structure, but the entire ground wa littered with similar dried vegetation.



Here are three of four chicks that hatched out along our gravel road.



This little Killdeer hatchling was different. His departure from the other three huddled together caught my attention and I stepped very carefully, knowing he would not likely be alone.



This Mom is brooding her chicks.



Killdeers are swift and graceful fliers.  Flight shots are challenging and those I have were mostly lucky shots.