Nesting Killdeer
One of the Joys of Summer!

Birds and butterflies contribute their share to the gardening joys of summer.  One of our interesting experiences each year involves a killdeer family.  The killdeer call is a familiar sound around our place as they attempt to draw attention away from the nest.  Three years ago my mother, who lives next door, believed there was a nest someplace in her gravel driveway.   She was able to pinpoint the general area  for me, and after about three minutes of searching amid the protesting of the parents, my eyes focused on a little nest of sparse grass nestled among the rocks and  located in the middle of the driveway so cars would normally pass over it.  Nestled there were four mottled eggs, very much resembling stones themselves.  We marked the spot to insure against someone accidentally running  over the nest; then we checked the nest regularly several times a day, hoping to see the little ones hatch.  Several days passed, and one morning my mother came over to tell me there were little birds in the nest.  These little ones leave the nest very soon after they hatch, and by the time I checked a couple of hours later, the young birds had already become mobile.  The only thing left was the empty nest resembling a small pile of grass and the parents' loud shrieking to warn their offspring that danger was near.   However, we had taken some pictures of the nest to share with our young grandchildren via e-mail.  Each year since, we enjoy the killdeer experience.  This year, however, I had a good idea about when the eggs might hatch, so I was not surprised to see four baby birds this afternoon.  That did not quell my excitement, though.  I wanted to tell the world!  My husband arrived in time to share my excitement and take a picture.  In the few hours since the babies hatched, they have already started to move out of the nest.  We won't see them again, but we know we'll hear them calling to each other during the summer.  And we will look forward to next spring and the next killdeer experience!  In the following thumbnail pictures (click to see a larger picture), see if you can spot the eggs!  The locator stake helps!