killdeer Tag

What a wonderful sight! Several bird species have chosen our Valley Natural Foods outdoor patio and garden classroom area for a bird sanctuary. It's also the location for a city wetland project (south side of the building) where baby ducks will soon receive their first swimming lesson. It happens every year, right on schedule. However, it's the parking lot due west of that area where really cool bird business was recently witnessed.Yes the parking lot! We learned that landscaped, rocky areas are a favorite place for those funny little killdeer birds to hide their eggs, in plain sight. Last week, Valley Natural Foods staff noticed speckled eggs nestled right out in the open over a bed of rocks above the curbside! If anyone got near, mother killdeer exercised a tactic by distracting possible predators away from her nest using a high-pitched sound of distress; "kill dee, kill dee!" the bird call it was named for. This was accompanied by an impressive "broken-wing" display. When we followed her lead