Travels with Cathy and Larry: Killdeer News from Hershey PA

Killdeer Nest Just Outside our Door

Toward the end of May, we noticed a pair of Killdeers spending a lot of time in the vacant site next to ours. By June 3 it was clear the pair had mated and a crude nest with two well camouflaged eggs was present.

Then, 3 days later we saw two additional eggs in the nest and the watch was on!

And the adults began attending to their duties which at first was simply sitting on the eggs to hatch them. I did a little reading online and learned they normally lay 2 to 4 eggs and it will take 21 to 28 days for them to hatch.

They have been called upon to ward off any and all who would dare come close to the nest. Here, both parents enter the fray to discourage a squirrel that has ventured too close! The "nest" is that small clutch of tan weeds just over the tail of the bird near the top of the photo.

The classic ploy of feigning an injured wing was employed to lure intruders away.

We have seen them fuss when humans venture too close or when the lawn mowers enter the site. We watched them fend off a family of Canada Geese which were attracted to the fallout from the bird feeder. And they will rush at any other dove or grackle they sense as a danger.

It has been an interesting couple of weeks and we still have about the same time to wait until the chicks are hatched.

A Snapping Turtle emerged from the lake and scuffed the soil behind our site. I assume it, too, was preparing a nest and laying her eggs. The young should hatch 80 to 90 days to hatch according to the DEP website. I found this tidbit interesting, "Snapping turtles have temperature-dependent sex determination. Eggs maintained at 68°F produce only females; eggs maintained at 70-72°F produce both male and female turtles; and those incubated at 73-75°F produce only males."

Here is a closeup of this pre-historic looking creature.

Then there is this creature who spends a lot of her days in positions similar to these! Dixie is lots of fun and is popular in the park because of her twice daily jaunts leading Cathy on her tricycle. They both get to meet just about everybody!