Weekly Challenge Kildeer Chick

Over the years we’ve had several Kildeer nests in the middle of our driveway. Being our only way to the house, I put some sort of visible marker to the side so when we drive in we can be sure to not run over it. During this nesting period, I noted when the eggs were laid and set up a blind so that I could observe the chicks when they hatched. In my experience, Kildeer chicks are up everyone and leaves that nesting site the same day.

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Terri, that’s quite a driveway! :astonished: Killdeer chicks along with a number of other ground nesting birds, all hatch together and leave their nests right away for safety. This one blends in amazingly well with the stones of your driveway. It’s neat that the brown and black coloring fits the stones well while the legs have enough green to blend with the plants. This one looks like it’s still wet from the egg. Must have been a treat to watch it break out of the egg.

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Excellent, Terri. When I look at the plumage, it doesn’t seem suitable for gravel, but it definitely works. Our neighbor gets them in her yard and had spotted the nest this year, but I didn’t get over there quickly enough.

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Thanks Mark and Dennis for your comments. It was definitely a treat to see them hatched but such a short window of opportunity!