We have a Killdeer family living in our front yard. At least I figured out what kind of birds there were today by using an egg identification site on the internet. Before today, I just knew them as the very vocal, dramatic and loyal parents of a nest of four plain, gray, speckled eggs. As all Killdeer do, they had laid the eggs out in an open rocky section of the lawn with no protection. I figured a month ago they must have eggs when they frantically began acting as if their wings were broken every time I walked one of the dogs near that section of the yard. In an effort to avoid squashing their eggs I scouted out the nest. It was effectively camouflaged.
Since that time we have tried to steward this precarious, birdly attempt at parenthood. But yesterday I didn't make it out fast enough to warn the lawn care guys to avoid mowing in the far left side of the yard. When I finally hear the mower, I made a mad dash out the door, pajamed and hair in a crazy snarl, to tell them to be careful. But they had already mowed right over the nest. As we all peered down at the four eggs to assess the damage, the guys expressed regret and hoped all would be well. Though it was evident the nest had been disturbed, there did not seem to be more damage than a few small cracks in two eggs.
Heart sick we patrolled the nest the rest of the day. This patrolling was done much to the dismay of the harried parents. However, late in the afternoon, it became apparent the cracks we had observed earlier might be due to imminent hatching rather than lawn mower damage. Large sections of the two eggs had started to flake off. Both eggs were gently rocking. I left them that night with the hopes there would be hatchlings in the morning.
Morning came and, to my dismay, the two eggs had not hatched. Worse still, the inner membranes had started to dry out. That's when I got online to see if this was the way Killdeer hatched. Of course there were no intimate details about the hatching process. But I did learn the newborns were rather helpless the first day and then generally begin running around by the second day.
I faced a dilemma. Should I interfere with a natural process or should I wait to see if the chicks hatched or not? Would too much interference on my part cause the parents to abandon the nest? I decided to let nature take it's course and took one the dogs to the vet to have a foxtail removed from his ear. Since he'd been limping lately, we also ended up having an x-ray taken of his front paws. Sadly, we discovered his wrist bones were compressed and he had a fracture in one of them. Because the bones showed signs of mild arthritis the vet suspected the fracture had occurred earlier. So. it's bed rest and glucosamine for Chaiboy.
On with our story. After an eventful morning, I came home to began preparations for my afternoon theater class. Shortly before I was supposed to be at the class, I began to have a nagging feeling I need to help the baby Killdeers. I went out to the nest and the egg membranes seemed too dry. A tiny beak was protruding through the end of each egg. There was no movement. I quickly snatched up the eggs despite the parent's protests and ran into the house. Using tweezers, I gently pried of the pieces of remaining shell. About halfway through the process I heard a "cheep" and the first baby began to move. As soon as it was free from the shell, it remained in the position it had been in for so many weeks. I wondered if, indeed, it had hatched too soon. I was alarmed to see a nutritional sack still attached to it's abdomen. However, the hatchling soon stretched out to it's rather startling full size and began to move. I set it in a bowl and started opening the second egg. This time I was too late. The second baby had already died.
What would I do with this live baby? Several scenarios ran through my mind. Meanwhile, time was racing and I needed to get to my theater class. Since I had no way of incubating the baby, I decided to put it back in the nest with it's mom and then check on it later. Mom seemed very happy to find a chick in her nest.
Apparently, Killdeer clutches hatch completely within two to three days. Sure enough, after I was done teaching, I checked on the nest again and another egg has lost part of it's shell. Rationalizing the baby might meet the same fate and night was fast approaching, I grabbed the newly hatching egg and ran with it into the house. The Killdeer followed and flew at the front door while I removed the shell from their young one. This time the membrane was moist and when I tore it open I saw blood seeping out. Not sure if the egg was normal I almost stopped. But something told me to keep going and within a minute I heard a "cheep". Apparently the other eggs had been so dried the normal placenta surrounding the chick had also dried. After cleaning this chick up I ran it back out to the nest much to the parent's relief.
It's interesting because I don't know if I did the right thing. I don't know if these birds will be too weak to survive or if they hatched early because of damage to their eggs. I've been wondering the whole time why I did this. Maybe what I told the lawn care guys explains it. I remember saying, "I sure hope these babies hatch because the parents have been so faithful and are willing to risk their lives trying hard to protect them". I do hope these babies live, for their parent's sake. Yes, Killdeers are a little crazy. Even though they lay eggs in odd places, like driveways and busy walkways, they sure know how to be good parents.
For more on Killdeer:
http://www.birdwatching.com/stories/killdeer.html
