M6 chick update

I went to check the M6 area one more time because it will closed for construction starting next Monday. I wanted to make sure there were no longer any chicks there or if any of the chicks would be in danger.

I noticed the male seemed to be protecting the area that was pointed out to me yesterday as the place where the nest originally was. So, I started there. I found the male and at least one other killdeer in that area. A third killdeer flew by and the second killdeer went off into the air and did evasive maneuvers while being chased by the third one. Both of those killdeer did not return, but Dad killdeer was still there.

I walked around the area and noticed he got very excited when I walked around some of the bushes. I thought that he might have already started a new nest, but saw none. Then, I sat down and waited. Soon, I hear the DEFINITE sound of a baby killdeer calling back, possibly two, though the other sounded much weaker. I went to the place where I thought I heard the sound and looked around, being careful where I stepped. I looked around this one big bush, but was afraid to step in any further because I knew one of the chicks like to dig under the leaves and was afraid of stepping on her. So, I went back and sat down.

I waited a while and listened to Dad call and for a long time, I didn't hear a response. I was worried that I had stepped on her. I moved further away and, finally, she started calling again. He continued to call and sometimes I would hear a response, sometimes I wouldn't. Dad was definitely responding to the call and sat down nearby, possibly offering a spot under his wing for his daughter(s). But, it was hot, so she (they) didn't come out of her (their) hiding places. Sometimes, the little chick will call back for several seconds.

Dad responds to his chick(s) calling him

Dad sat a little bit away and did very weak "broken wing acts", but not with a lot of enthusiasm. Then, he went back to the area where I heard the chick call. I left after that and it all got quiet.

I think that the little chick that likes to bury herself has survived and possibly her sister may have, too. I don't think there are three anymore, but I am sure there's one. I may name her Digger even though I really don't like that name too much, but it's the only one I can think of right now. I thought about naming her Firecracker, but that was the name I was going to give to the other chick across the lake.

Is Digger a good name for this 11-12 day old chick?

Chicks-Day 7, chicks missing, parents acting "weird"

When I first arrived, I saw both Mom and Dad killdeer in M2's territory without sight of any chicks. It's unusal to see them together with no chicks, but not unusual for Dad to be there all alone. I thought I heard at least one chick response to their calls, but it could have been a phoebe. Dad was acting like he was hiding something over by some rocks and brush, but I saw nothing over there. Meanwhile, Mom slipped over to where the chicks originally hatched and began doing alarm calls.

I went over to the "hatching" area and mom constantly did alarm calls and flew outside the area and across the road, doing alarm calls there. I walked about every inch of that area as well as every other area where I last saw the chicks and/or the parents in the past and saw no sign of the chicks. Mom pretty much followed me the whole time, doing alarm calls. I thought I heard at least one or two chicks respond, but it's hard to tell when there are phoebes in the area and they often sound like the chicks, too.

Mom did this all by herself, constantly making calls the whole time someone was in any of the areas where the chicks have been seen in the last week. Dad did not join in or come to her aid. She did not do any broken wings acts, trilling, or anything else that would indicate that I had ever gotten close to any of the chicks. I left without seeing any trace of them.

Since the chicks have reached a week old, an important milestone, this change in behavior may be completely normal. The chicks know the area and what to eat, they know what to do if a human approaches them on foot and they probably know that we can't find them in the brush. Also, they probably can better regulate their temperature, so they don't need mom or dad's warmth as much as they used to. So, now, they're allowed to roam around on their own with only one parent to watch out for possible predators.

However, they are still extremely small I am having trouble believing that their parents would just leave them like that. It's also possible that all three chicks have died/disappeared/were stolen by people and the parents have no idea where they are anymore. Or, it could be that the parents know exactly where each chick is and deliberately hide them in the morning and do alarm calls to warn the chicks to stay hidden. I've noticed that was how they protected their nest. They would do alarm calls every time a person got within sight of the nest and not exactly where the nest was at, but anywhere around there. If this is the case, it will be very difficult for me to find the chicks again until they're almost grown.

It would be hard to believe that all three chicks, making it through the toughest part of their life, would suddenly be eaten or disappear in less than 24 hours. I do think, though, that the parents will become less and less protective of the chicks during the next week and a half. By two and a half weeks, the chicks may be totally on their own with a parent keeping one eye out for them, but not constantly staying in the area.

If I don't see them again, at least I've enjoyed their first week of life, but I'm holding out hope that they will be seen again when they're older.

**Afternoon update**. I looked again in the late afternoon, a time I rarely ever visit this area. At first, no sign of any killdeer could be seen, though one was heard in the area where I last saw the chicks doing alarm calls when someone walked by. Later, I saw Dad killdeer fly over to his feeding area where he called a couple of times and became quiet. As I left, I thought I heard him doing alarm calls close to the fenced off area, but could not be sure.

There are two other killdeer couples over there as well. No sign of the chicks or Mom killdeer at all. It's entirely possible that they chicks were successfully brought over through the fenced off area and are living there totally out of reach. But, it's highly unlikely as there are still way too many predators in that area. Will try again tomorrow morning, early. I will also be attempting to check out the other killdeer on the other side of the lake, too. A new construction project is due to begin there and I want to make sure the baby killdeer will not have issues as they will be tearing out trees and other plants there.

Chicks-Day 6, Parents leading them into danger?

The smallest male killdeer, getting bigger

Today, I decided just to go check on M2 and F3's chicks at the lake and that's all. I didn't have to go far, they were only about 1/8 of a mile from the parking lot. It appears that their parents (mostly the father, I'd bet) are leading them to the open area with about 100 crows, grackles and seagulls, not to mention a lot of ducks. The poor chicks won't have a chance.

Or, perhaps, they're not doing that just yet. It may be that the moved to this area because it has more food like tons and tons and ants and other insects. They may be teaching their babies more on what to eat. I think there isn't a whole lot to eat where they were before. Also, I suspect that another killdeer has laid eggs in the area where they were hatched--most likely their son, Little Male (whose name is going to be changed because there is another Little Male now). The female didn't look like his mate with the smooth band, but perhaps it's her with ruffed up feathers making her breast-band not so smooth.

I found the two near a drainage area where turtles and herons tend to congregate. They must have walked over there over the course of the day yesterday and last night. The parents actually went up to the bend of the road and almost got hit by three very fast cyclists. I sure hope that doesn't happen when I'm not around. A gnatcatcher father was found dead near there and I think it was hit by someone on a bike. But, after those bikes went by, they avoided going to that area on foot. And, by the time I left, they were no longer going up to the road at all.

It's possible that the dad might lead them across the road and parking lot to his favorite feeding area with lots of little sand flies all along the water. I hope he waits at least a week or two before he does that. It makes me nervous for them to be where they're at, especially with the near-miss with the bikes. But, I have to trust that they're experienced and successful parents and know what they're doing. However, I don't think there were as many grackles in the area last time as there are now.

Today, I only saw two chicks, the smallest and the big female, but a third one was definitely heard nearby. I went and photographed them and found that the small male (the two smallest are male) had run into an area and froze on a huge pile of ants. I could tell they were biting him all over, so I quickly left, but when I came back, he was still there. I picked him up (something I try never to do as I could easily harm the chick, get parasites/diseases and the fact that he doesn't want me to touch him, either) and moved him to another spot. But, he was listless when I put him down, and slowly crawled back to the pile of ants. I moved him again and he showed a little life kicking and protesting. I then left for a minute and came back to find that he had disappeared, so all is well. He was heard calling for his parents later on.

The tiny killdeer is getting bit by ants around his head and belly

The big female chick has doubled in size

I informed some people who were fishing along the lake and picking up trash about the little babies running around. I also picked up some trash and fishing line in the area. All the chicks had moved closer to the parking lot by the time I left. There's nothing I can really do if that's where they want to be. I can't move them if their parents want them to be there as they would lead them right back. So, I will just have to trust the parents' judgment and experience. Perhaps these chicks are tougher than they seem.

Day 5, chicks' voices getting louder

Possibly the last photo I will be able to take for a while. This is the largest chick, possibly a female

When I arrived, dad killdeer was over in his M2 area eating flies. He complained at me when I walked up to look at the ducks before he flew back over to where his family was at. I noticed that grackles were spending a lot of time in that area and I thought, at one time, that they were attacking a chick, but it might be one of the parents attacking the grackles. The grackles were not in the area when I visited a second time.

Today, I only managed to see the largest chick and photograph her. Yes, I said her as it appears that she might be going to be a female, but I probably won't be sure until later, if I see them again. I looked and looked and I thought I heard at least one, possibly two other chicks in the brush the first time I passed by.

A strange female killdeer stopped by and began feeding in the area. She looked like she was going to lay eggs any day now. The parents didn't react to her at first, but one of them did make an aggressive call towards her letting her know that she's not welcome. The strange female continued to feed and I assume she left afterward because she was not there a few hours later.

Strange female, possibly a grown chick or relative responding to the alarm calls the parents made.

The second time I passed by, about mid-day, I did not see any chicks at all, though the parents were obviously reacting to me being there and doing broken wing acts. I thought I heard at least one chick peeping, very loudly, from the brush but I couldn't be sure if it was a chick peeping loudly, or mom peeping softly.

I left the area and came back later and one person said that they heard a chick peeping very loudly in the brush, but when I went to check, I did not find it. But, as I went to leave, dad killdeer got very upset and flew ahead of me, probably thinking that I had taken a chick, so I must have been close.

On the way down the road, I passed by the more protected area and could see and hear dad calling for his chicks at that end. I, and the other person could hear two very loud, distinct responses from two chicks there. Mom was still over where the last chick was heard and continued to call. I assume she found him and directed him over to the protected area as she began to get quiet and made softer calls.

I hope all five got together. I'm sure they're all fine, killdeer are usually good at finding their babies and moving them away.

The chicks are getting better at responding by running and hiding more effectively. Instead of freezing where they're at when I approach, the scatter, usually two in one direction and one in another and hide near rocks or brush. It's nearly impossible for me to find them when they hide under brush. It's good that they're hiding behind rocks, even though they're still pretty accessible and able to be grabbed, but they are less likely to get stepped on by accident.

I am not going to be spending as much time looking for the chicks as I used to do. They hide very well now and as long as I know the parents are still protecting them, at least one is still alive. As they grow, their calls will be louder and, eventually, they will not rush to hide as quickly as they do right now. Or, they will be bigger and more noticeable when they do hide. So, mostly I will be listening for them and if I see them, that will be great, too.

Update on killdeer chicks, 1.5 days old now

Killdeer chicks this morning

I only saw three killdeer chicks, as I did yesterday, so there may have been only three to begin with. They were being brooded right at the edge of the water. Actually, I think what happened was that they went into freeze mode as I approached as they were already feeding there. The ducks were coming back to that area from being fed, so I thought I should leave the area so that the parents could move the chicks before they got stepped on by the ducks.

When I came back a couple of hours later, I saw a gull with a black, long-legged chick in it's bill, dunking it in the water. I couldn't get him to drop it and he flew off along with a heron and some other scavengers. The parents went crazy as I walked up to that area, so I thought, for sure, that the gulls had actually killed off all the chicks. Someone had also left bread in the area, attracting the scavengers. But, the adult killdeer seemed to enjoy it, too. I never knew that killdeer will eat bread.

Someone said, later, that she saw a small bird chasing attacking a gull somewhere else, so it's possible that it got another bird's chick, possibly one of a swallow or a phoebe. But, I was really upset and wanted to cry until I knew that at least two of the chicks were safe.

Gulls scavenging bread someone left, the brown one was the one with the chick

After sitting and listening, I was able to figure out where the chicks actually were, right where mom and dad left them, all three. When they stay hidden where mom and dad left them, they do not call out and stay really still and quiet. So, I found them, in the mud, behind some rocks. I went away and came back to check on them one more time before I left and found that they had already left and ran into the brush. Not worth looking for them in there as I knew they were OK and probably in separate areas. I heard them calling back to mom and dad's call. Very cute! Little peeps in response to the very noisy parents.

The three chicks were hiding 50 feet away. I moved a couple pebbles to get a clearer shot

Some fisherman walked by right where the chicks were laying in the mud a few minutes before. I was glad that they had moved as they might have gotten stepped on. Their instinct to stay immobile is a problem, especially when people are walking around the area. Hopefully, people will look and see where they're stepping and I won't be seeing a dead chick when I check on them tomorrow morning. A lot of the fisherman have been avoiding that area because of the screaming parents and that might be a good thing. But, some just ignore them.

More updates tomorrow, I hope some happy ones.

Look what I saw yesterday.

American avocet chicks in plain view. They're a kind of shorebird that behave, in many ways, like killdeer.