A bird went limping across the cow pasture. I ran after it. When I got closer, it fluttered away dragging a wing. I was a child and distressed by the bird that was apparently injured. I tried again to catch it but every time I got close, it managed to scurry away. All the while, the injured bird’s mate cried in a loud, “Deer, deer, deer” scream. My mother laughed. She explained that this bird was renowned for faking injury to lure threats away from its nest. It was a Killdeer.

Killdeer, classified as shorebirds, spend as much time away from shores as they do on them. Killdeer nest in shallow depressions on open ground. Later, I watched the two robin-sized birds zipping in front of the cows to steer them away from their eggs.  Both screamed, “Deer, deer, deer,” and made themselves as large and visible as possible. Their persistence, in the face of the small herd, made an impression and cemented this bird as one of my favorites.

My brother-in-law (Randy Bailey) sent me a picture of a nesting Killdeer in gravel outside his office door. The bird in this picture is showing what is sometimes referred to as an “ungulate display”. Maybe, it mistook Randy for a lumbering cow. He took the photo with a zoom lens. If he had approached closer, chances are the bird would have rushed him calling loudly in hopes of steering him away.

Last summer, we had Killdeer nesting in the old corn field at Valentine Farm. The culvert was washed away due to the harsh, late spring thaw. This meant few walkers made it out to the field. At one point, we counted more than five Killdeer calling in the field. We think at least two pair attempted to nest, but we never found their nests.

This year, the culvert has been replaced, and we plan to maintain a mowed path for walkers. Here is where we need your help. Watch and listen for this bird. We hope they will return to nest again. Once we know they are there, we will re-route our path and ask people to keep their dogs on leash in this area in order to give the Killdeer room to hatch their eggs and raise their young.

James Reddoch, of Albany Township and Boston, leads birding events for the Mahoosuc Land Trust. Visit Mahoosuc Land Trust at 162 North Road, Bethel, ME. To learn more visit www.mahoosuc.org. To contact James, send your emails to info@mahoosuc.org.

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