Last week I bought a new camera base that is better adapted to catching birds in flight. So now Jon is using my old base.
As a result, I can post double the pictures! Check out my very serious 500 mm lens.
Farmington Bay has become very busy with bird activities. The Killdeers have started breeding in the gravel. We found three that decided that the parking lot is a perfect place for breeding.
They really have marvelous coloring for blending with the gravel. It is exhausting work have watch over those nests and staring at all the humans trying to use their cars.
If a predator comes near a Killdeer nest, the Killdeer parent acts like it’s hurt to lure the predator away from the nest. This is called decoy behavior and you can see a video of it here.
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The Killdeer is a type of plover and, like other plovers, the Killdeer finds food in the marshes.
There were so many of them in the water!
I love their red eyes.
Their rumps are the same color as their eyes, which was startling to see when I saw one bend over. You can almost make out the color on the tips of his tail feathers.
“Killdeer” refers to a noise they make, which sounds like “kill – dee.” I leave you with this beautiful close-up of a Killdeer at the Monterey Bay Aquarium that I took last July.
