Killdeer: it was a dark and lonely night

It is 2:22 a.m.

Ernie starts barking. Not just one or two obligatory warnings, but a dedicated alarum.

I flick on the outback lights. The beams highlight a solitary killdeer, a bird common to Texas and North America.

What is the grounded aviator doing out there in the cold and fog at this early hour of a winter morning?

Startled by the light Charadrius vociferous scampers into the drippy darkness.

I turn off the illumination and get back to sleep. Ernie agitates no more for the moment. He did his job.

Killdeer – says The Birds of Texas – is named for its kill-dee call and is an opportunistic thespian. I quote the following because it can’t be put better than the way author John L. Tveten does:

“The frantic birds circle low overhead uttering loud piercing calls……One of the pair lands suddenly and flops to the ground, obviously with a serious injury. Raising one wing, it beats the other in the dirt, flashing white wing-stripes and a bright orange rump. It continues to scramble pitifully for several yards and then miraculously takes flight again. The broken wing has been an act. Somewhere behind the startled and confused intruder is a nest with four buffy eggs spotted and mottled with dark brown, wonderfully camouflaged and almost invisible on the graveled ground.”

I nicknamed them ringsaroundthecollar: a unique fashion statement for these actors is two black rings around the neck.

Their appearance at daylight is equally challenging to capture: they seem to sense being watched from behind the glass door as they regularly fly off at the discrete appearance of me and my camera.

But in late afternoons – especially after a generous rain has left a notable puddle – I’ve seen one gingerly walking in it. Maybe the inviting water distracted it long enough for the picture above to be taken?

Mr. Tveten also asks that humans leave both eggs and fluffy, spindly-legged babies alone: don’t pick them up! Ma and Pa are somewhere close-by.

For more good stuff about these avian actors please visit:

http://www.birdsbybent.com/ch1-10/killdeer.html

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