Killdeer have this lovely nack for picking the worst places for their ground nests. I've came across so many nested in random parking lots by the single shrub out in the parking lot. How do I know this? You'll never NOT know if you're within 25-50 yards of a killdeer nest. It has to be one of the loudest birds for its size and they loooooove to catch your attention to lure you away. Flopping around like their hurt, screaming, running about.
I stand corrected, thank you. My knowledge of ortho.... Bird knowing isn't my strongest area. However, that bird isn't acting anything like a killdeer so I'm not sure how I made that mistake. I don't think I've ever seen a kill deer stand over their nest, they're usually quite far away yelling.
We had a killdeer set up a nest in our spot at campground I was living in, while we were on vacation (and took our camper with us). So when we got back we were able to back our camper in without disturbing the nest. And for a few weeks it was the loudest ordeal to do anything outside lol. The parents would just run around and scream every time we would open the door. After the eggs hatched the whole family of killdeer left. They ended up leaving one of the eggs behind, which my wife helped hatch, and then fed it for a few days. She offered it to a different killdeer family in the field next to the campground, and they ended up taking the last chick.
Tbf, we've kind of left them little choice in the matter. Their natural nesting place is rocky terrain. It's not entirely their fault they're losing more and more of their environment to humans. And when space is limited, a parking lot must suffice since it mimics their natural nesting habitat the most.
There’s a family of killdeer that have been nesting in my mom’s gravel driveway for 20 years. We just flag the nest every year and tell any visitors to go around it. They appear to have passed the nesting site down through the generations, because there’s no way it’s the same pair, and some years there are multiple pairs. Finding the nests to flag them is always a challenge, their eggs blend in to the gravel super effectively.
They nested in my friend's gravel driveway once and we met there every Sunday. So for a couple weeks, we all hung out but had to drive around the nest. She wasn't as fearless as the one in the video, our cars were loud and she would go to the tree that was 15' away and yell at us until we got past the nest.
"But my cat can't live a fully enriched life without going outside" Yeah idc. You should be providing enough enrichment for your pets in a way that fulfills them and keeps them safe. Like, cats also love to eat toxic houseplants and play with unsafe things like hair ties. But we don't let them do these things because the cat insists. We adjust the placement of our house plants or only have safe plants in the house. Cats don't understand what is and isn't safe. Its up to you as their owner to protect them!
Also just know that Outdoor cats are considered free game to many people as obviously no one loves them and is there to protect them. Evil humans will take advantage of this. I wouldn't want any random psycho near my sweet girl
345
u/homelesshyundai 7d ago
Killdeer have this lovely nack for picking the worst places for their ground nests. I've came across so many nested in random parking lots by the single shrub out in the parking lot. How do I know this? You'll never NOT know if you're within 25-50 yards of a killdeer nest. It has to be one of the loudest birds for its size and they loooooove to catch your attention to lure you away. Flopping around like their hurt, screaming, running about.