Wednesday, April 24, 2013

♥ Kildeer Eggs ♥

I just love all the new life that comes with spring!  About a week and a half ago, when one of my piano students was leaving, she noticed a kildeer egg in our driveway, just a little off to the side of the main driving path.  Since then, I've noticed there is another one!  I tend to get a little excited over these things!  :)



I have to say thought that I've often thought that these birds aren't very smart.  They will lay their eggs right barely on the edge of the road, or in this case on our driveway.  It's so close to where we drive and where piano students pull in and park that we were worried those little eggs might not make it.   And see how well it blends into the rocks? 

Can you see them?
So, bless his heart, Jason put up a little blue flag out there to mark them so we could help mama kildeer protect her eggs.  I have already warned our mail delivery lady and she says we're not the only ones on her route marking kildeer eggs!    That made me smile!  :)



I may not think mama kildeer is very smart as far as where she chooses to lay her eggs, but she really is a good mama.



She doesn't like me coming around, getting that close to her babies. 

She's headed out to try to distract me.  Love those spindly legs!

She is mighty protective, squawking and playing out the broken wing scene for us time after time. 


Can you see here out there pretending to have a broken wing so I'll look at her instead of her babies?

We try not to linger very long around the eggs so she can get back to warming her eggs.  But I have a certain little 5 year old boy that is very curious about those eggs.  I have to watch him when we go outside because he is a little obsessed with them.

The incubation period is about 28 days or so, and we're not really sure how long the eggs have been there, but I'm thinking in the next week, or two anyway, we should have two kildeer babies.  Actually around here, we call them "kildees". 

I hope we're as blessed as we were about 4 years ago.  We watched  a mama kildeer (and the daddy on watch nearby) protect their eggs, and actually witnessed one of the babies making his debut into the world out of the egg.  And watched them struggle to stand on those long spindly wobbly legs.  It was a beautiful thing.  And believe me, that was a very protective mama.  She contorted herself into a very ugly creature to attempt to scare me away....she didn't like that camera near her babies one little bit! 

If you'd like, you can read that post, Don't Mess With My Babies, here.  It's quite a nature lesson, if you've never witnessed that before!

I'm hoping we get to see these babies....we're watching closely for any changes.  They don't stay in the nest long after they arrive.  If we are blessed enough again to get photos when they arrive, I'll be sure and share them with you.

Thanks so much for stopping by.................. and remember to take time to notice God's creations all around us.  I'm always amazed at the beauty and the details of each and every thing He created for us to enjoy.  :)

♥ Tammy ♥

17 comments:

Trace4J said...

How precious.
I would be marking them too and camping as close to them as mama would let me.
Woolie hugs

Primitive Stars said...

Morning Tammy, oh my, how sweet....love the way the Mama is so protective of her eggs and babies.......Great post, Hugs Francine.

Cherry's Prairie Primitives said...

I love it!! How exciting, hope you get to see them hatch this time also!!

Beth said...

That sounds like so much fun. I will be watching for the pictures of the babies.

Patty Sumner said...

How exciting! I am not familiar with a "kildeer". I think it is woonderful how a momma is a momma regardless of the species. Keep us posted. I love Spring and all the wonders it has for us. Yes, the book of proverbs speaks clearly how we are stewards of God's creation. Blessings!

The Rusty Thimble said...

oh we love to watch the kildees
they are the neatest birds and really thick where we live at
Brenda

Joy ~ Doodlebug ~ said...

Mama,

That's so cool, right? :) Who needs to dissect a frog when you can watch baby birds being born! :) We've got our own built-in nature lessons right outside! It is amazing to see how God put those protective instincts and characteristics into the mama and daddy birds. :)

Love you, Mama! 8!

Love,
Joy :)

Farm Girl said...

They are so funny to watch. I always wondered why they lay their eggs like that. It is like finding a treasure when you do find them. Have a great day.

LynnMarie said...

How nice to put up the flag to let everyone know to watch out! I never heard of thos birds and yes, what a silly place to lay eggs. I hope you get a photo of the babies.

Breathing In Grace said...

That's so precious. I saw one of these birds while driving the other day and didn't know what it was called, but it had those long spindly legs. Keep us posted!!! And, thanks for following me...I'm doing the same!

Anonymous said...

That's awesome! It's wonderful to be able to observe nature up close and personal. We found turtle eggs a while back and it was lots of fun, but they take so long to hatch we never got to see the results... happy birdwatching ♥

Hollie said...

Oh wow!! How exciting!! I love watching all of God's creatures big and small!!

Linda ★ Parker's General said...

A great science experiment for the kids. The cycle of life--very lucky... Mike used to watch them out at the lagoon on the berm. One year a pair of Canadian geese made their nest on the berm and that was a real joy to watch--5 goslings! Yep---that is gonna be fun to watch!!!

TexWisGirl said...

they truly do choose very odd and unsafe places for their nests. and you can't even call them nests - just a small dent in the ground and rocks. :) but i love their babies, too. like striped cotton balls on toothpicks. i hope yours make it!

Cindi said...

Tammy that is so neat...I didn't even know about those kind of birds so I had to look them up to learn more. Have a great day!
Be blessed,
Cindi

Michelle said...

Do they lay them in the stones as a way to camouflage them from predators ?

Prims By The Water said...

At my old house I had Kildeers. Always laid their eggs in my garden. Always thought it was cool to watch them run around faking a hurt wing to protect their eggs. Had to walk my garden very slowly before I rotertilled it so as not to break any of their eggs. Janice