Newborn Killdeer (90 minutes after birth)

This newborn Killdeer is photographed about 90 minutes after its emergence from its shell. The Killdeer family was nesting in my gravel driveway. It takes about 24 to 28 days for the eggs to mature after the start of incubation. All of the eggs were laid on different days over a period of five days and the start of incubation occurs after all the eggs are laid. All the eggs hatched on July 1. I was there to witness much of it. Additional images can be seen in the avian critique gallery. Today, July 3, all of the checks are all over my neighbor’s lawn and the parents are struggling to keep them corralled. This image is less than 20% of full frame so the detail could be better. From the top of his head to the bottom of its feed is about 3 inches. Imagine all of that fitting into 1 1/2 inches of egg diameter.

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Pertinent technical details or techniques: iso-400, 100-400 at 400 mm, F6 .3, 1000th, A7R3, handheld, less than 20% of full frame.

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Great shot, David! It’s all legs and head! What an opportunity to be able to watch the whole process from your house.

David, this is quite the cute little fuzzy fledgling. It’s fledging time around here also, with newly fledged mocking birds hanging out under a bush and ornery parents complaining about my presence. This is way cool, with the little one being mostly head and neck on very long legs.