Killdeer

The killdeer is a common plover that breeds through out much of North America. Killdeer that breed in the northern portion of their range, Canada and the northern US, migrate south for the winter. Some killdeer migrate into the southern United States and Mexico and some continue south down into Central America and northern portions of South America. The killdeer is named because of its shrill call which sounds like they are saying kill-deer.

Although they are a plover they are often found far away from water. They are found in a variety of habitat and have adapted very well to humans. The bird in the first picture made its nest in the side of a gravel road. Fortunately it was in a wildlife refuge so the area was roped off to avoid an accident with a car. Other common places that you can see killdeer include parks, ball fields, low farm fields, yards and golf courses. Killdeer are known for faking a wing injury to lure predators away from their nest or young. Since they consider us predators I have seen this behavior on a few occasions, but since I do not intend to eat the bird it does not quite work correctly. Instead I look for the chick because they are quite photogenic.