Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Seek and Find

I've been seeking some sunshine but I haven't found it yet! I do, however, love the swirls and contrast between the dark and light clouds of these stormy days.

Plus it usually clears up towards evening and gives me a pretty sunset to watch.

Last year a Killdeer (a bird) nested in the driveway near the neighbor's house. Can you spot the nest?
They are quite cleverly disguised but we can usually tell where one is before we come too near to stepping on it because the mother will put on her brave "broken wing" act to try and draw us away.

This year one has nested practically in the backyard. I hadn't seen the nest yet, but knew she was there because her cries of killdeer come from the same spot. Camera in hand I went hunting...and found mama holding perfectly still, watching me and moving only when I moved.

Brave little mama. I tried not to stress her too much while I was there and used my sad little zoom which is why it looks so blurry when I enlarge it.

She was smart and gathered some moss from my fallen oak tree to pad her nest.
Can you spot it?

I have never yet seen a young Killdeer - they can take off right after hatching! Maybe if I keep my eyes on this one...

3 comments:

Heather said...

The birds in our area on nest high up from the ground...that is sooo cool! Hope you get some shots of the babies, the mama is so pretty.

shari said...

molly, your clouds look just like mine! sigh... i love your killdeer nest pics. the eggs are beautiful and i have seen the whole "i got a broken wing, come and get me" routine while walking in the woods near my house. funny. the little museum in tillamook has a whole top floor with egg collections in glass cases. i LOVE it!! didn't realize how varied bird eggs were...

Dianne said...

Wow... I love Killdeer, they are so adaptable. I've seen them nest in fields and on rooftops, but never in a driveway! They are so clever... freezing and only moving when we do and their injured bird act... Mother Nature is amazing!