Two day old Killdeer Chicks

I was heading to our pond this morning to check on the nesting waterfowl when I spotted two adult killdeer and at least three chicks. The adult killdeer tried to draw me away from the chicks but it was hard to miss the long legged "puffball" chicks in the lawn.



As I got closer, the chicks ducked down into the clover to hid.



With their long legs folded, the little chicks were hard to find against the soil background. The chicks were motionless and I was able to get within inches of them.

Killdeer Chicks

While checking the killdeer nest today I noticed the bird was acting different than on my past visits to the nest.



On closer inspection of the nest I saw three of the four eggs had hatched and the fuzzy little chicks were still in the nest. Mother's Day for the killdeer.



The little chicks were motionless and huddled around the remaining egg. By the afternoon the fourth egg had hatched and the mother had moved the chicks to another location.

Killdeer Nest

While walking up the road to the cabin we noticed a pair of killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) near the food plot and located their nest. The killdeer is a ground nesting bird and their eggs blend into the surroundings.



The killdeer's nest is not easily visible but the birds will do their "broken-wing act" when you get close to the nest.



At times the birds charged straight at me to draw my attention away from the nest.



Within minutes the bird was back on its nest.

Killdeer and urge to "kill deer"

Killdeer
While preparing a wildlife food plot near our cabin I noticed a killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) staying close to the corner of the plot.



The killdeer is a ground nesting bird so I stopped the tractor and started looking for a nest. It was within 2 feed of the tractor tire.



I marked the location of the nest with a stick stuck in the ground and continued to work on the food plot. The bird continued to guard the nest. The nest is between the killdeer and the vertical stick in the next photo.



At times the killdeer would try to draw me away from the nest by using the "broken-wing act"




Urge to "kill deer"
Earlier this spring we selected a beautiful Yellow Transparent apple tree from Dushore Agway and planted the tree in the field next to the pond by our cabin. The tree was looking great until a deer decided it would make a tasty snack. The tree was still alive but looked like it had been run over by a brush mower. This apple tree and two others planted this spring are now encircled by fencing. I will seek revenge with the deer during the December hunting season.