More Bird Troubles

[AndyM]

No, not that Bird.

Last year at this time, I was working on fixing the flooding problems in the front yard and discovered that a duck had a nest full of eggs in my willow tree. By the time the eggs hatched, I had filled in the flooded area, but we put a kiddie pool at the base of the tree and the ducks ended up in the swampy area across the road.

On to this year's issue...
For the past few days, we've pulled in the driveway and there's been a bird running away acting like it has a broken wing. We've come to find out that it's a Killdeer, a Federally Protected species. She has made a nest in the middle of our gravel driveway, and the eggs blend right in with the gravel. The "broken wing" ploy is an effort to draw predators away from the nest.

Being that there was a nest in the middle of the driveway, MrsAndyM called the vet to ask if there was anything she could do. As she described the bird, the vet told her it was a Killdeer, and she would have to report it to the Department of Wildlife. The Game Warden called back finally and said there was nothing they could do-- we were not to disturb the habitat, and killing of these birds results in fines. So now we're driving around the nest for the next three weeks.

We pulled in the driveway yesterday evening, and MrsAndyM insisted she saw a bald eagle flying over the house... If there really is one there, with my luck, its nest will be in the dead tree that I was going to cut down!

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Andy, I would suggest you make some sort of a perimeter barrackade around that nest, you may know were it is, but visitiors or delivery people will not. Maybe use something like the orange construction cones?

As for the eagle nesting in the dead tree, just hope none of those dead branches hang over the house /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

 

[AndyM]

<font color="blue"> Andy, I would suggest you make some sort of a perimeter barrackade around that nest, you may know were it is, but visitiors or delivery people will not. Maybe use something like the orange construction cones? </font>

The worst problem is, that the nest is only about 50 feet from the road, which means a walk of about 200 feet to the house!

If it's common for them to build nests in gravel driveways, it's no wonder they are endangered! /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

 

[Bob_Skurka]

<font color="red"> If it's common for them to build nests in gravel driveways, it's no wonder they are endangered! </font>

Is there anything you can do about protecting them from predators? Namely house cats or barn cats. We had a timberdoodle nesting at the base of our hill a few years back, not endangered, but reasonably rare here, and considered good luck. On one of our normal inspection trips down there we found a pile of feathers.

One neighbor down the road had porch cats, perhaps a dozen of them, and they spread to the surrounding properties. We presume one of the cats got the bird?

 

[Birdman]

I have had Killdeer nest in the middle of the driveway many times. I just ignore them and drive over the nest, if you can even call it a nest, just eggs in the gravel. I figured they put it in the middle of the diveway because that was the safest place to be. On the other hand if I came home and found that other Bird sitting in my driveway, it might be shoot first and ask questions later. hehe

 

[ronjhall]

Andy
Where did you find that the Killdeer is an Endangered Spieces? I did a serach, but did not find anything on the Killdeer. It is a very common bird around here.
Here is a site that had lots of information on the Killdeer. Also a Wav. file of their call. Click Here

 

[ronjhall]

I guess I was the one that called them an Endangered Spieces. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif
We always have a few in our back field.
There has not been any laying eggs in the drive since we blacktopped it about 20 years ago. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[thcri]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I guess I was the one that called them an Endangered Spieces. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif
We always have a few in our back field.
There has not been any laying eggs in the drive since we blacktopped it about 20 years ago. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif )</font>

Well yeah, your part of the reason they are endangered /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif No place to build a nest /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif


murph

 

[AndyM]

<font color="blue"> Well yeah, your part of the reason they are endangered No place to build a nest </font>

...and if you have a gravel driveway, the eggs blend right in and get ran over, unless you know they are there.

TBN has gotten way too busy and I don't nearly read every post. Even though I didn't see the thread for the first time until a few minutes ago, Frank f-15 started a thread several days ago on Killdeer...
BROKEN WING TRICK

 

[beenthere]

Good luck with the Kildeer birds. Maybe the eagle already has the nest spotted, if the neighbor cats and the local racoon don't find it first. Except for the cats, it is nature's way.

I don't mind the Kildeer being on the protected list, but in Wisconsin the feral cats are also on the same protected list. Hmmm? Something not right about that scenario.

 

[AndyM]

The killdeers all hatched and are no longer living in the driveway.

On another note, I thought my wife was crazy when she was insisting she saw a bald eagle. I stand corrected... There was an article in yesterday's paper about a couple of eaglets in a nest half a mile away!

Here are a couple of interesting facts from the article...

In 1976, there were FOUR bald eagle nests in the state of Ohio. There are 125 known nests in the state this year.

The nest up the road is 5 feet across, 3 feet deep, weighing around 500 pounds.

Now that I know they are really there, I'll be watching for them and I'll try to get a picture of them.