February 28, 2010 - Killdeer Return

Welcome to the Nature Notebook.

The piercing call of a killdeer breaks the early morning quiet. Technically shorebirds, killdeer live far from the ocean. They begin arriving in north central Pennsylvania just after the first major thaw this time of year. If winter stays cold and snowy into March killdeer delay their return by as much as a month. Killdeer frequent plowed fields, mudflats, and the edges of lakes and ponds. Their run-stop-bob movement and the double black bands on a white breast make killdeer easy to identify. Killdeer acclimate well to human activity and often nest on gravel roads and parking lots. Natural nesting sites include pond and lake shores. Nesting won’t begin until April. Until then, listen for the characteristic killdeer call.

This is PPL's naturalist, Jon Beam, with the Nature Notebook for WVIA.