Last weekend the Cooker, Stitch, and an interested party took the horses down to our arena to refine some of their skills with the horses. Everything was going well until a noisy Killdeer decided everyone was too close to her nest. When she made her nest she didn't realize that the arena was subject to rural renewal and that it was a multi-use area. She was not pleased. We put orange traffic cones around her little area so the horses and riders would not interfere with her motherly duties. She is part of the wild 99% who are struggling to keep their homes and their way of life from extinction. This is her defending her nest, which is just a hollowed out spot in the sand. Note the eggs to her right. (click on the pic for enlargement)
Last year a fox got to her nest before the eggs hatched, so you have to admire her persistence and never-give-up attitude. We will be careful, but she will have to defend her nest against everything else. I hope she has better luck this year. Now we can ride by without disturbing her too much.
I took a walk in the woods along the creek and amongst the cedar trees just to see if anything had changed. Everything is as it should be and the woods is still intact.
Brave adorable little thing. Up against so much.
ReplyDeleteAnd that tree? Knocks me out...
Pearl
She's like any other mama when her kids are threatened!!!
ReplyDeleteLove the tree!!!!
We'll do anything to protect our children. What a beautiful creature.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like the killdeer is doing a "broken wing" display to lure intruders away from her eggs. Poor thing!
ReplyDeleteLast year, a killdeer laid eggs in the middle of a community garden I frequent. Whenever anyone would come near, mama killdeer would perform the "broken wing" display. She must have been so stressed with all those humans nearby.
Wait until the babies hatch. Baby killdeer are adorable.
What a beautiful area you live in. Thanks for the pictures, I had never seen a killdeer before. Poor thing, I can only imagine how frightened she is for her eggs.
ReplyDeleteHow sweet that you guys coned her off! I have a good feeling about her eggs making it this year.
ReplyDeleteIts beautiful ,It is wonderful that you respect the privacy of this beautiful bird, you have a great blog
ReplyDeleteThe Killdeer strategy is to hide in plain sight. I had one in my driveway once that I just flat had to move. Amazingly, she didn't abandon the eggs and moved with them.
ReplyDeleteI am glad you marked her nest to avoid horses trampling it into the dirt. Hope the foxes don't get her.
ReplyDeleteA brave mother....where does the name Killdeer come from...suits her fearless nature.
ReplyDeleteI do miss the big trees!
Sorry that I missed this until now. I like the killdeer, even the cry. I wonder how your horses handled seeing the cones as they went by. No shying from it? Hope you had a good weekend down in the big bad city!
ReplyDeleteI have found one surviving chick so far and the parents do the broken wing thing to keep me away. The horses pretty much ignore everything in the arena. In fact Rune's nickname was "Cone Crusher".
ReplyDeleteWelcome Daoud Ahmad! Thanks for stopping by. I will spend more time at your blog soon!
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