Tammie Rogers
Inspired by Dogs & Nature
Perilous Parenting
This Killdeer was milling about an infrequently used driveway at our place.
I was in a golf cart. When I stopped to take photos of a Bluebird in a nearby tree, the Killdeer hunkered down in the rocks about 15 feet from me.
I found its behavior a bit odd until I started moving again and it performed that characteristic “follow me, I have a broken wing” behavior to draw a possible predator’s attention away from a nest. It was then that I saw it. It’s not exactly a nest – just a slight depression in the gravel that helps prevent the eggs from rolling away.
Fortunately, this “nest” is in the very middle of the driveway, so that a vehicle is probably going to straddle it rather than smash the precious contents. Still, there’s no possible way anyone would spot those eggs, even if I were to put up a sign “careful, there’s a bird’s nest here.”
Hard situation, but I would inform your guests that come and go about the nest. And put a trellis metal lawn ornament that says welcome horizontally to where the killdeer nest is. That’s where they’re going to straddle your driveway. Plus nesting season is not that long 💌 keep us updated ❣️