Killdeer nesting time
A pair of killdeers built a nest in the gravel about a foot from the edge of our church parking lot. I use the word "built" very loosely because there is nothing more than a slight indent in the ground. (The white at the bottom of the picture is pvc pipe used for irrigation.) The birds take turns sitting on the four eggs and screaming at people walking in the parking lot.

Newly hatched killdeers are the cutest of all birds. (These four eggs will hatch sometime before May -- incubation is 24-28 days.) They are born with running shoes and will follow their parents around the field and parking lot. At that stage if someone gets too close to the babies, a mature bird will feign injury and try to lure the observer from the area -- the assumption being that a predator is more likely to attempt to catch a lame bird than go after the chicks. Of course, the "lame" bird always manages to keep a few feet in front of the predator, until they are well away from the chicks. Then the bird will suddenly regain it's mobility and fly off.