Killdeer at CalExpo.

This past summer I was intrigued by the killdeer bird antics up in Irrigon, Oregon. I watched them in a gravel area between our motorhome and the fish hatchery where we were volunteering, but could never find their nesting area. One time we saw baby killdeer following the parents and they were soooo small!

After I found the nesting area I asked the managers if they would tape the area off just so people walking dogs wouldn't accidentally allow their dogs to wander between the posts and crush the eggs. The managers were great about it and ready to help.

Here the little mama is sitting on the eggs and watching for anyone intruding on her area.

Can you see the eggs? This is before I asked the managers to tape off the area.

Hint...right behind the rectangle piece of cement. For some unknown reason the killdeer make nests on the ground level and mostly in gravel. I would think that the eggs would be very vulnerable to predators but besides the camouflage, they must not have any scent either.

Even knowing where the eggs are it still takes a few seconds for me to actually pin point the nest.

When you get within 30 feet or so of the nest the parents will run from the nest and fake a broken wing in their attempt to distract you from the nest. They were both very hectic when we strung the tape up but calmed down shortly after we backed away.

Both parents hanging out near the nest. I noticed that when it was warm and sunny, no one sat on the nest much. Today because of the rain, one of the parents was on the nest nearly all the time.

I feel very protective towards these little creatures and hope we are here long enough to see the babies born. I am amazed at the size of the eggs...one of them would be tough to drop from a bird this size, but four? WOW! Speaking of which, these are "precocial" young...meaning they are born with full feathers and ready to run from day one.