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While day dreaming one lazy afternoon, I watch a killdeer charge a cow. Not really, it was a calf, about 6 months old. But I surmised that a little bird taking on such a large animal meant there must be a nest nearby. And, while walking the cow pasture and among the heard four drab eggs came into focus. What an experience! Of course, all images are copyrighted by Tom Davenport and not to be reproduced without permission.
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How do you find four eggs a little larger than a quarter
in the grass? Beats me! But this case involved luck and a little detective
work.
I was photographing a song sparrow singing on a barbed wire fence. On the other side of the fence was a beautiful, green cow pasture. Five cows and a calf reside there. The calf caught my eye as he ran across the pasture, care free like a little kid on a summer day. He came to an abrupt stop and that is when I noticed the Killdeer. Apparently, cows are immune to the Killdeer's display dance and after a little while the killdeer gave up. Instead, it CHARGED the calf. The calf just stood there and looked at it. Four eggs is common in a Killdeer nest. Along with the Killdeer, I was worried that a cow would step on the eggs. |
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Both adult Killdeer incubate the nest. They would be easy to step on if you didn't know they were there. This nest was close to a road and made it convenient to drive up and not disturb them. One day I drove up to the area and surmised that a predator had visited the nest because it seemed to be gone. One last thought was to check with binoculars. Low and behold, the adult Killdeer was there, still incubating the nest. Just VERY well camouflaged. |
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Three chicks and one egg. The chicks develop rapidly. The middle chick stood and took a few steps less than four hours after hatching from its shell. |
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When the adult comes back to the nest, chicks race to get the prime, warm spot under momma or pappa. |
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If an adult Killdeer feels as if their nest or chicks are threatened, they fly a short distance and pretend they are injured, flapping their wings and displaying their bright back and tail feathers. If you are a coyote, this attracts your attention and you move in for the kill. But the Killdeer just moves farther away until it feels you are not a threat to its nest. Then, it just flies away. |
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The adult eventually gave up trying to incubate the fourth and final egg after more than 30 hours from the time the first chick hatched. |
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Within a span of 24 hours, this chick went from a sealed, viable egg to this little ball of fur. Unbelievably cute. |
