Killdeer nest update and robin eggs
Happy Tuesday, everyone! I went out to check on our killdeer nest this morning, and the eggs still have not hatched. I politely disturbed our host just enough to get a standing reaction and thus revealed four black and gray speckled eggs. Cool!
Now, at this point the killdeer was not in a hosting mood and peeped loudly at me to vamoose. If you heard the sounds it was making, you would totally expect to be at the beach…reminded me a lot of seagulls. Killdeer are shorebirds, of course, so that makes sense.
This is what she (I’m assuming) looked like when I first arrived. Look at that gorgeous fan of tail feathers…wow! Remember from the first killdeer post that it is nesting on an island in our church’s parking lot. So I appropriately ask you at this point, does a beautifully-patterned bird like this exist by chance? Did it just evolve over millions and millions of years from simpler life-forms that did the same thing? No, all creation truly points to an amazing creator God!
Continuing the nest theme, we also have a robin nesting in one of our trees at home. Don’t look now, but you’re being mooned… The nest is about ten feet off the ground, so what would a kind blog host do to serve his loyal readers in this situation? Ask his son to climb the tree with the camera, of course!
No, no, only joking, although he could totally do it. This is me risking life and limb, high in a spindly Bradford pear tree, braving hundreds of tiny ants and a loud, angry bird to bring you this unsatisfying photo. I say unsatisfying because of the sunlight splitting the nest. The eggs really are a gorgeous blue, turquoise even (that’s for you, Carolyn), but the picture doesn’t do them justice. These just look like pale bluebird eggs. Oh well. Maybe I’ll risk it all again tomorrow… Bye!
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Comments
Love seeing the Kildeer, Dave. The picture of her sitting on her eggs with wings spread out, is amazing.
Love the Robins also—and hope you will continue to update us as to the eggs/babies…
Have a great day.
Betsy
Dave,
I think you should have given your son the video camera so he could record you climbing the Bradford Pear tree to get that nest shot…then you could have posted both..tee he.
I am very jealous that you are getting those awesome shots of that killdeer.. and her speckled eggs!! Wow, wow and wow!! Neat captures..esp fanning that tail.
Do be careful with that Mommie robin.. I have a scar on the top of my head from a Mommie robin who felt I was too near her nest when I was 7 yrs old. She dive bombed me and hit me in the head..two stitches ..plus I fell out of the tree..and yes I was too close!
Gosh Dave, you’re on a roll there with your egg-laying!
Those are really awesome shots of the killdeer and her almost babies. Way to go!
It’s so nice that the family can enjoy these events. Nature has so much to offer, if we just pay attention!
Fantastic photographs, Dave. But I’m still maintaining that Robin’s Egg Blue is a color unto itself. Sort of like Carolina Blue…we all know what it is.
I loved those close ups of the Killdeer! And it figures that a Robin would moon YOU – LOL!!!
P.S. I told my husband about my new business – opening up the birdy bed and breakfast. Now I just need to know how much to charge – lol!
Those are great pics,
We’ve also taken a few shots of Robins eggs in our tree.
And I’m pretty sure that they have hatched and I’d love to get pics for our nieces to look at, but mom & dad Robin are a lot more frisky (may i say angry) than they were when I took pics of the eggs.
If I put on the protective clothing and take a picture of the babies, will I scare away mom & dad Robin for good?
With the density of the tree, I would need to get within 6 feet of the nest. I would be sure not to touch nest or babies of course.
HI, I HAVE A KILLDEER UNDER A TREE IN MY FRONT YARD. SHE HAS LAID 4 EGGS 2X THE BABIES COME OUT RUN AROUND AND THE NEXT DAY EVERYONE IS GONE.
ABOUT A WEEK LATER MOMMA CAME BACK LAID EGGS AGAIN, A FEW WEEKS GO BY AND 4 EGGS HATCH, CUTIEST LITTLE ONES RUN AROUND THE FRONT YARD AND ARE GONE WITHIN 24 HOURS.
TO MY DISMAY MOMMA IS BACK AGAIN TODAY AND HAS LAID ANOTHER EGG, THIS IS ONLY A WEEK. I THINK HER OTHERS HAVE BEEN SNATCHED BY OTHERS, BUT HOW CAN SHE BE LAYING EGGS SO SOON??? ANY IDEAS ABOUT THIS????
Rod, thanks for writing in…I don’t think you’re in danger of scaring them off. They will definitely harass you though, so make it quick. I’d be doing it myself…but our nest came down a week ago or so. Nestlings died, too…it wasn’t the kids, so it may have been a blue jay I’m guessing. Hope it goes well, but you might want to read Tina’s comment up above…
Susan, not sure about the killdeer’s quick turnaround. This was our first experience with them. Sure sounds like fun to see the young ones running around the yard!
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The Killdeers used to hop off their nests along side of the country roads in the pea gravel and run away with a broken wing and I used to watch them and wonder how many mothers would do that. I really like your birds and wonder how you ever coaxed them to your place to build a nest?