While I was down on the beach over the weekend, I ran across a pair of Killdeers. They were right out in the middle of the white sand, with no real reason that I could see to be there. But...knowing the time of year, and having a pretty good knowledge of the behavior of these birds, I got a pretty good idea that there was a little one around.
Killdeer are famous for the running with a broken wing trick. They hope to lure a predator away from the nest or babies, with what looks to be an easy meal. The at the last minute, they blast up in the air and away.
Another one is to just lay down, like they are sitting on a nest, and then again, at the last moment jump up and run or fly away. I am sure they are laughing out loud, going "psych".
I slowed down, and just sat there, and actually out waited them. Pretty soon, I spotted a little motion off to the right, and sure enough, there was the little dinker....hiding out in some sand vines that had started to grown down the beach. What a cutie....so I quietly slipped away, and Mom and Dad went back to being cool parents who had just saved the day again!!
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