May 27 Valley Life column

May 27 Valley Life column in AG Weekly
Killdeer vigil keeps gardener's dogs busy

The birds this spring have been simply amazing. Out here at Pauly's Folly, I've counted as many as 20 plump robins perched on the rim of an old claw foot bathtub, drinking alongside flickers and starlings. The finches and nuthatches were too numerous to count until we put the birdfeeders away. Now they are gone, off in the fields, eating or nesting.

Like other country folk, we have our share of starlings and magpies. So far, the magpies haven't become a nuisance and in spite of my efforts to shoo them away, the starlings have nested in the back of an old iron stove we keep outside for aesthetics. And yesterday, I saw my first hummingbird.

But the birds that have me up early and outside with my morning cup of coffee are the killdeer. These noisy but persistent birds have made a nest -- right in the middle of my driveway.

Actually plovers, these noisy birds have been interesting to watch. Every time I walk toward the clothesline, two adult killdeer cry and drag their broken wings, making so much noise you'd think they were dying. The first time it happened, I thought they were teasing the dogs, but the second time it happened, I started paying attention. I knew they only acted that way to draw danger away from their nests.

I started hunting and sure enough, even though it took me the better part of the day, time I should have been using to plant my garden, I found out why they were yakking.

The nest was barely noticeable -- no twigs, no feathers or twine to make it soft -- just a small indentation in the gravel.

Since the nest was located in the direct path of traffic, like in cars and tractors, I marked it with a stake and a flag. Then I began my vigil. First, there were two eggs. Then there were three. The next thing I knew, there were four spotted eggs in the small gravel nest.

I've been watching the nest for a couple of weeks now and the parents are getting used to us, even the dogs, who they lure away with their fake broken wings.

Caley, the Lhasa apso, gets so tired of chasing Mama and Papa Killdeer she lays down in the shade and watches, bored with that silly game. Cocoa, the rambunctious poodle, still thinks he can catch Mama or Papa Killdeer, but the killdeer know better. With their pitiful cries, they lure him out to the fields, then fly safely back to their eggs.

Last week, when we had those hot, record-breaking days, I felt sorry for those poor birds. It was over 90 degrees and there they sat in the gravel, incubating those eggs, which can take anywhere between 23 and 28 days to hatch.

"Made me want to take an umbrella out there and protect them from the sun," I said to my friend Joyce when I told her about the nest.

"The babies come out running," she said, knowing more about killdeer than I do.

"Oh, good." I said. "Caley thinks she's a cat. She chases anything that moves."

I have a feeling the next two weeks could be interesting.