Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Niagara Digiscoping: The Perils of Nesting Killdeer


At the start of my work week last week, the perils of nesting Killdeer near the employee parking area began and by Thursday June 9 there were 4 eggs resting in a small depression in the gravel.




There was no point lamenting the fact that I would be unable to attend the Darlington ptarmigan viewing on Sunday morning. So instead, I placed the scope in the car and after dropping Jean off at work, I went to observe the progress of the nesting pair of Killdeer and try a bit of digiscoping.




One of the Killdeers was sitting on the eggs when I arrived and did not raise a fuss as I walked by to enter the building. After checking on a few things I emerged from the building and the Killdeer left the nest as I started to setup the scope. The main reason I was there was to capture images of the bird sitting on the nest. Now I would have to wait as the Killdeer strolled the area near the eggs.






Eventually the Killdeer returned to the nest and resumed its position on top of the eggs.





Its mate was on sentry duty and remained alert while I stood in the parking area deciding on the best location from which to capture additional digiscoped images.







I was mindful of ethical birding practices and kept my disturbance of the birds to a minimum.







After capturing a sufficient amount of images, I left the Killdeer pair to enjoy the quiet of an empty parking area and loading dock.




Incubation will take 24-26 days so we should see the first of the young emerging at the end of the month and then the parental duties of both adults will increase greatly. Until then, check out these other images of birds from around the world that were recently posted for World Bird Wednesday 30 at The Pine River Review.





























10 comments:

  1. Great photos and it always amazes me where some birds choose to nest.

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  2. Terrific post! Well, the place for nesting seems a bit bizarre:)

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  3. Cut shots of the Killdeer, the nest sounds like it is in a bad area. I hope the chick survive.

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  4. Leave it to the Killdeer to place a nest in a bad spot. Great captures!

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  5. I really hope they are able to raise the chicks,,,is there any way to put up a sign or something to keep people away and maybe a fence out about 5 ft around the nest to keep preditors away? A great essay on their progress!!

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  6. Some birds just don't seem to care where they nest lol
    I hope they all manage Ok. Good idea by Sondra.

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  7. Hi there - the old bird brain does not always pick the best places to nest!

    Cheers - Stewart M - Australia

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  8. Nice job with the scope and good for you being so conscientious and minding your ethics! Can't wait to see the chicks!

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  9. How fun to be able to watch a nest like that! Very cool!

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  10. Great shots! Kildeers are so interesting to watch. Hope you get to see little ones!

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