Waterbirds: Walkers

Jacana, Lapwings, Oystercatchers, Phalaropes, Plovers, Ruff, Turnstones, Woodcocks, Snipe

I lumped these diverse shorebirds together simply to even out the numbers of photographs between the Waterbird groups.

The Killdeer is a well-known, vocal plover (killdeer!). Once the target of market hunters and in serious decline, the Killdeer population has recovered as a result of habitat changes wrought by humans. However, the species is vulnerable to pesticides, oil pollution, lawnmowers, and automobiles and is declining in some regions.

Killdeer frequent mudflats, gravel bars, short-grass meadows, and their modern counterparts - construction sites, road shoulders, gravel roads and driveways, graveled rooftops, lawns, pastures, and golf courses. Many of us have seen Killdeer’s broken-wing act to draw people and predators away from nests and chicks.