The oldest recorded Killdeer was at least ten years and 11 months old when it was recaptured and re-released during banding operations in Kansas.

These eggs were laid on May 27th, 2021. They hatched on June 19th, 2021. All four are happy and healthy.

A shorebird you can see without going to the beach, killdeer are graceful plovers common to lawns, golf courses, athletic fields, and parking lots. These tawny birds run across the ground in spurts, stopping with a jolt every so often to check their progress or to see if they've startled up any insect prey. Their voice, a far-carrying, excited kill-deer, is a familiar sound even after dark, often given in flight as the bird circles overhead on slender wings.

NEST PLACEMENT

Killdeer nests are superficial scrapes often placed on slight rises in their open habitats. Killdeer may make several scrapes close to each other before choosing one to lay in. The duplication may help confuse predators.

NEST DESCRIPTION

A nest is a shallow depression scratched into the bare ground, typically 3–3.5 inches across. After egg-laying begins, killdeer often add rocks, bits of shell, sticks, and trash to the nest. Curiously, these items tend to be light-colored, and this tendency was confirmed in one experiment that gave Killdeer a choice between light and dark sticks.

Killdeer chicks hatch with a full coat of buffy-down feathers and a single black breast band. They can walk out of the nest as soon as their feathers dry.

Near the nest, killdeer distract predators by calling loudly, bobbing, and running away. Killdeer are some of the best-known practitioners of the broken-wing display, an attempt to lure predators away from a nest by feigning injury. Pairs of Killdeer tend to stay together for one to a few years.

Often seen in dry, flat landscapes, they run and halt on the ground in search of insects and earthworms. Although the killdeer is common around human habitation, it is often shy, initially running away rather than flying. When a killdeer stops to look at an intruder, it has a habit of bobbing up and down almost as if it had hiccupped.

Despite their warm, tawny coloration, Killdeer are surprisingly unobtrusive, even on green lawns. Look carefully over lawns, short-mown fields, and even parking lots, and listen for the far-carrying kill deer. When you hear this call, the bird may be in flight. Look for it circling you, flying stiffly on long, pointed wings. It may resemble an American Kestrel until it lands on the ground and begins walking. Though they're often found on dry land, you should also look for them on the edges of freshwater ponds and muddy lagoons.

Pictures by Jeff

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The Painted Desert