Sunday, March 06, 2005

PLOVERS

For three years running now, Dickie and I have been observing some beautiful birds that keep returning to the same place to raise their young. Plovers, also called killdeers, nest on the ground. In fact, they don't really have a "nest" in the usual sense. They just lay their eggs in a convenient depression, without even lining it with twigs, as most other birds seem to do.

Our visitors to this same spot have chosen a location on the edge of a grade school parking lot where they lay their eggs among the rocks. The eggs look deceptively like the rocks. You can look right at them and not see them. In fact, I'm sure most people who walk by that plover nest never realize that it's there, although they will probably see the parent bird, pretending to be hobbled and fluttering off to lead any unwelcome visitors away from the nest. The bird still goes through that act for us every time we come by, although by this time it should know that we know and can see where the nest is.

Here below are a couple of pictures of the nest. The first shows just the eggs. The second is with the plover sitting on the eggs. I think you can tell that both pictures are from the same area, although the one takes in a little larger view than the other. Notice the three large rocks just above the bird in the second picture. Now look at the same three (slightly enlarged) rocks in the first picture and, just in front of them, you will see the four eggs that the parent bird is hatching:



If you want to see an enlargement of the picture above, click here.

Here's and even better view: Plover Eggs

This is just one of the little joys of life I'd like to share. Hope you find it interesting, too.

2 comments:

Carl Schmidt said...

I keep hoping people will figure out how to add comments here, but it looks like no one has been able to do that yet.

Carl Schmidt said...

It's really not difficult. Just click on the word "comments" here and follow directions. You must choose a "Username" and a "Password" on the page that comes up. That will enable you to make a comment here, as well as to start your own "Blog", if you're so inclined. Don't forget to write down your username and password. You'll need it the next time you want to make a comment.

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