Created 7-Sep-25
12 photos
Killdeer were the first species of bird that I spent a lot of time with when I first branched out into wildlife photography. That was because I was lazy. There were a lot of Killdeer nesting on the golf course where I lived, and they nested on the ground. So, I could walk across the street and start being a wildlife photographer. And, to make it easier, the grounds crew put little red flags by the nests so they wouldn't accidentally wreck one with a mower. For me, finding nests was difficult, but finding little red flags, now we're talking!
The Latin name for Killdeer is Charadrius Vociferous (I looked up Latin names when I first started photographing animals and then ... well, I already told you I was lazy).
The rough translation to English is "Noisy, Squaking, Pretender". Because their nests were on the ground, they were easy for predators to raid, and clumsy people to step on. The adults would intercept interlopers by pretending to be injured. They would lay on the ground squaking and flapping their wings. As the interlopers approached, the great pretender would move away, in a direction away from the nest. They seemed to enjoy the game because they could play all day if the interloper didn't give up. So, I got to see, and photograph, a lot of Killdeer lifestyle which I wanted to share. I hope you enjoy looking at the nesting characteristics of these interesting birds.
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