Killdeer 

Birds of the Lawn
Although these birds may be classified as shorebirds, they certainly can be found during the summer over most of the North American continent, not just the shorelines. In the southern half of the United States as well as Mexico, the Killdeer is a year-round resident.
Killdeer are about 9 �?10 inches in length with a wingspan of 19-21 inches. With a grayish brown back, white underparts and two characteristic bands of black across its neck and chest, this bird can be seen on many lawns, ballfields, golf courses and in fields. Juvenile birds are very similar but only have one black band.

Watch one in your backyard, and you’ll certainly notice its distinctive run: a burst of speed, walking very quickly, then a complete halt, and then off again.

Startle a bird and hear its familiar cry: kill-dee-dee-dee. If you’ve ever had a pair in your yard, you will certainly agree that they can be a bit noisy at times!
During the spring and summer, the male killdeer with build a nest of stones, sticks and dried grass on the ground. I’ve even had nests build and eggs laid in the middle of a gravel driveway. These nests are not along tree lines or hidden in bushes but out in the open so the parents can watch for danger. The pair of birds are monogamous, many times returning year after year to the same mate and even nest site.

3-5 eggs are laid and then incubated by both parents. My young daughter has worried during a springtime thunderstorm about the poor birds as they laid on a nest full of eggs, keeping them dry and warm while the parent is battered by the wind and rain. After 3-4 weeks, the eggs hatch and will leave the rocky nest very soon after. Once all the eggs are hatched and the hatchlings are mobile, the parents lead them off out of the open to the relative safety of taller grass or bushes. It is very difficult to spot young killdeer with their coloring as well as their habit of stopping suddenly, then scurrying off again.

The young Killdeer follow the parents about, learning to feed themselves, protect themselves from danger, and to begin life on its own. The killdeer’s diet consists mainly of insects, thus these are wonderful birds to have in your yard! The parents watch over the young birds intently, calling out to them as well as warning them, much as domestic chickens care for their chicks. When danger comes near either young killdeer or a nest, a parent will try the crippled bird ploy. The parent leads the intruders far away from the nest, pretending to have a broken wing, dragging it on the ground, limping and maybe even almost falling to one side. Once the young are out of danger, the “wounded�?bird suddenly heals and flies off to safety, loudly calling out its victory over the aggressor.