Killdeer

 The killdeer is a common plover found throughout North America, Central America and Northern South America. They typically nest in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Birds that nest in Canada and the northern US typically migrate as far south as Peru. Birds that nest in the southern and central US often are year round residents. Killdeer are ground nesters. The nest is a shallow depression in dry ground with little vegetation around. The bird above is on the nest and actually has chicks below her as well as the one visible out front.

Killdeer will sometimes nest in wetlands finding a slightly elevated dry spot for the nest. They have also been observed nesting on the gravel roofs of buildings, which can be disastrous.The typical clutch size for killdeer is four to six eggs. The eggs are incubated for three to four weeks. The eggs are buff colored with many speckles which makes them look like stones. When the chicks hatch they already have a covering of down feathers and are able to leave the nest and begin foraging right away.  Even though this chick was way to young to fly it still could run quite quickly and was an expert at hiding in the lily pads.

Although they are a shore bird killdeer are often found away from water in parks, farm fields, golf courses and along gravel roads. When a predator shows up near the nest or young the adult bird will often fake a wing injuring to try to lure the predator away. When the predator is far enough away from the nest or young or if it gets to close the adult will give up the rouse and fly away. This does not stop animals like cows that are not interested in eating the adult. In these cases the bird will puff itself up as large as possible and charge the larger animal, hoping to get it to change its path. The bird in the photo above is faking a broken wing.

Julia Butterfly

The Julia butterfly is a tropical brushfoot butterfly that is a member of the Heliconiinae, or logwing, subfamily. They can be found from the southern United States, particularly south Texas and Florida, down through Mexico and Central America and into Brazil. On some years, depending on the weather, they will invade northward up as far as the Central United States. Their larval host plants are passion vines. 

Inca Dove

 The Inca dove is a species of  dove that is found in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Mexico and parts of Central America. Since this bird nests in tropical climates it is not migratory. They can often be seen foraging on the ground for seeds. They are also known for perching together in a pyramid form with birds perched on the backs of others up to three levels high. In 2007 an Inca dove got really mixed up and ended up in Two Harbors Minnesota at the beginning of winter. Needless to say a tropical bird does not have much chance of surviving a Minnesota winter. So after a few weeks of being viewed and photographed by birders throughout the north the bird disappeared and presumably perished. That was my first experience with an Inca dove since then I have photographed them in Texas where they are fairly common.

Harlequin Duck

 The harlequin duck is a colorful duck that is found in the northern regions of North America, Greenland, Iceland, and Russia. The harlequin is separated geographically into two populations. The eastern population nests in the coastal areas of Iceland, Greenland, and eastern Canada. They winter in the coastal waters as far south as Maine. The western populations nests from the Pacific coast to the Rocky Mountains in Alaska, Canada, and the northwestern United States. This population winters in the Pacific coastal waters as far south as California.

 The harlequin nest is built in a well hidden spot on the ground usually near the rapids of a rushing river. They are diving ducks so they find their food, typically fish, water bugs, and other invertebrates, by diving under the water. They prefer to hunt in rapids or other switch moving rivers. The top photo was taken a few years back. We had this male that wintered in the Mississippi for 4 years in a row. The bottom photo was taken in the Yellowstone River in Wyoming. Both pictures are of male birds. The females are much less colorful, as is the case with most ducks.