Killdeer

The killdeer is an American plover. There are three subspecies. The nominate (originally described) subspecies is found in the U.S. Canada and Mexico. Other subspecies are found in the Caribbean and in Peru. 

When I was growing up in Salt Lake City we had a ranch outside of Oakley in the foothills of the Uinta Mountains. We had a pasture in front of our ranch house with a large soggy patch which emanated from a small spring/pond next to the ranch house. The pasture variously had horses and cows in it and I remember the soggy patch to be full of hoof print indentations and manure piles. I used to go out into the pasture regularly looking for garter snakes, frogs and other animals. A regular occurrence would be one or more killdeer feigning a broken wing and pleading its dilemma. I knew they were trying to distract me from a nest and I looked and looked for the nests and never found one. I always imaged that the killdeer was pleading "baby, baby, baby...." I have loved killdeer ever since. 

I've not seen one in many years until recently seeing one on each of two trips to the Salton Sea, both at the Salton Sea SRA outside Mecca, in the same spot, next to the lake in a small inland bay. I was taking photos from quite a distance and only have one relatively decent photo which I share.