Pam’s Perspective
From the…
Pam Otto is the Manager of Natural Programs and
Interpretive Services for the St. Charles Park District
April 5, 2013
“Kill-deer!”
“Kill-deer! Kill-deer! Kill-deer!”
Yep, there’s no doubt. The killdeer have returned.
These medium-sized birds, members of the plover family, are famous for their namesake call – and for
their propensity for repeating it over and over. And over.
I first started hearing them around Hickory Knolls a couple of weeks ago—ironically, right after coyotes
killed a deer in one of the nearby athletic fields.
Even though these birds look like they should be running along a beach—which would make sense, since
most plovers are shorebirds—killdeer are an undeniable, and increasingly obvious, element of our local
landscape.
Male killdeer typically call from the air while circling over their territories, repeating the two notes ad
nauseum. In fact, the killdeer’s scientific name, Charadrius vociferus, means noisy plover.
Listen for killdeer whenever you’re in or near an open
space. Whether it’s a natural area or farmland, or even a
developed area with an expanse of stone, woodchips or
turfgrass, chances are there’ll be a killdeer nearby. This
adaptable bird has learned to take advantage of a wide
range of human-created habitats, including golf courses,
playgrounds and even gravelly rooftops and road
shoulders.
What could they possibly find appealing about roadsides?
In a word, habitat. Although seemingly hazardous, such spaces offer the advantage of being shunned by
most other creatures. And since killdeer are ground nesters, finding areas that are avoided by prowling
predators gives the incubating parents and their resulting young a bit of an advantage.
In addition, killdeer are masters of hiding in plain sight. They invest little time in nest building, instead
relying on camouflage to keep their speckled eggs safe.
Well, camouflage and one other quality: a remarkable acting ability.
If you’ve ever approached a killdeer nest, you’ve likely witnessed this bird’s theatrics.
Mom and Dad Killdeer both are adept at feigning injury, that is, scuttling about with one wing dragging,
as if broken. The hobbling and thrashing is an impressive performance indeed, one that often succeeds
in luring away the perceived threat.
But if more drama is needed, killdeer are prepared. The birds also will sit on a pretend nest that is some
distance from where the actual nest is located, then dart to another spot and plop down again. After
several rounds of running and plopping, predators and people alike—present company included—often
get confused as to where the actual nest is.
If the killdeer’s success is measured, not in acting awards, but by statistics, it would appear that the bird
is doing just fine. According to Kane County Audubon’s Spring Bird Count data, killdeer numbers have
increased fairly steadily over that last 40 years, from a low of 13 birds spotted in 1973 to a high of 161
killdeer counted in 2008.
Yet life is not all sunshine and rainbows for this plucky little plover. Coyotes and feral cats take their toll,
preying not only on the play-acting parents but also their precocial young, which are able to walk around
and feed themselves soon after hatching. In fact, it’s estimated that killdeer may make as many as six
nesting attempts before successfully fledging one chick.
Keep your eyes open for killdeer in the sort of places you’d expect—like meadows and mudflats—as well
as unexpected spots—like the parking lot by the PetSmart on Randall Road, where I saw a killdeer the
other day. Killdeer are brown on top and white underneath, with two characteristic black bands across
their throat and chest. They also have longish legs which they use to scurry across the ground and chase
after their insect prey.
Keep your ears open too, both day and night, for this bird that—did I mention?—is not shy of
announcing its presence.
“Killdeer! Killdeer! Killdeer!”
Killdeer.