Photos by Ashleigh Newnes

It was around this time of year, almost four years ago, when I met my first killdeer. I had walked by a nest of theirs that a friend had pointed out to me, and to my amazement, I got to watch their parental charade play out before my eyes. Like a well-rehearsed theatrical piece, one bird ran in one direction away from the nest, dropping to the ground, fluttering its wings, revealing its orange body and calling out as if it were hurt, while the other bird quietly ran a few steps, paused, then ran a few more, in the opposite direction.

I wanted to immediately go and help the killdeer flapping around on the ground calling out for help. That’s when my friend told me, “See! It’s working. You are distracted from the nest.” Their acting had worked, I had moved away from their nest and their eggs were safe. This encounter made me fall in love with nature even more and that was the day the killdeer stole my heart.

Unfortunately, killdeer nests are often found in dangerous places, like driveways, gravel parking lots or fields that are to be worked. That was the case for the couple I met all those years ago. They had created their nest in a field that was soon to be tilled for growing vegetables. From then on, I vowed to protect those two and their eggs—my own little conservation project. In an attempt to prevent the tractor from running over the nest, I put metal garden row hoops over their nest in a criss-cross pattern. Every other day, I’d go out there to check on them, holding my breath every time, worrying that the tractor or predator had gotten them.

In time, the pair got used to me, but they never allowed me to get too close to the nest without taking to the stage for their Oscar-worthy performance. They did, however, get comfortable enough to let me check the eggs from a respectful distance away without getting them riled up.

As time went on, I started to worry that the eggs or the birds would get too hot out in a wide-open field in the blazing Tennessee sun. I did some research and learned that the adults take turns soaking their belly feathers to cool down their eggs. How do they get cuter every time I read about them?

Every day I got more and more anxious that something wasn’t right. Why haven’t they hatched yet? Are the babies okay? They were way overdue from what I read online. Day after day went by and I finally came to the conclusion that the eggs must not be fertilized. One scorching day, I dutifully headed out there to check on them and was stunned by three little fuzzy heads in the nest. They had hatched! The parents were close by, but not performing yet, they let me get close enough to the nest to photograph the babies, and shortly after, they started their performance. I like to think that they were letting me have my moment like a family member getting their turn to hold the newborn. The parents and babies only stuck around for a few days after that and then they were gone. But they come back to the same spot every year to lay their eggs. I have since moved on but I think about them every time I hear a killdeer call from the skies or a neighboring field, and it always brings a smile to my face.

You may think my encounter is a rare one, but I’ve come to learn that it’s not. I have heard about many other people in and around Murfreesboro who have a killdeer nest or couple that they are protecting. If you keep your eyes peeled and your ears open for their distinctive call, you’ll find them and, who knows, maybe you’ll find a nest and have a new little bird family to take care of!