Killdeer Guarding Their Nest

We happened across a killdeer pair and their nest the other day.  We were so fascinated by their ground nest and the dramatic way they protect it by one bird flailing around on the ground like it has a broken wing.  It whines like a banshee and tries to draw you away from the nest.

Meanwhile the other bird calmly and unobtrusively sits near the nest  guarding it.  You would never notice it there, except that we knew their tricks and looked for the nest.  

We were excited to see an egg that was beginning to hatch...

But we couldn't stay close enough to watch it for long, because the calm bird suddenly got very protective too.

We were fascinated by these gorgeous plovers...

and hope to keep checking in on their progress.  

Photos taken April 2013
near an athletic field in Northern Virginia