Killdeer Sighted in Chatsworth, Georgia

Killdeer Sighted in Chatsworth, Georgia

Chatsworth, Georgia: My brother and I spotted an unusual bird today. It was in the parking lot at the shop. My brother first noticed that it ran out of the way of the car, but didn't fly away. At first glance, he thought it was a quail. Then we noticed its unusual markings: dramatic broad horizontal black stripes, straight across its snow-white forehead and chest. "What an odd bird," I said. "I don't think I've seen one before." As we got out of the car, the bird ran a couple of feet away, turned its back on us and spread its fan-shaped tail, perhaps as a signal that it was preparing to fly. It never did fly, though, and merely ran a few more steps and then waited for us to leave.

"It's not a quail," said my brother, though that had been his first thought. "Maybe it's a road-runner ~ it seems to like running." But it didn't have a crested head or spotted feathers. It's body was very smooth and downy, a soft, velvety brown, like a dove or pigeon, but brown instead of gray and smaller. The bird's mate was nearby and although both birds seemed slightly distressed to have us so close to them, neither of them flew away. They seemed to prefer running. That made it look very much like a sandpiper, to me ~ and its beak was long. That's a water bird, though, and we're in the mountains. Still, water birds seem to be making their way into our area and this bird did have longish legs. When we came out of the shop awhile later, the birds were still there. As we started the car, one of the birds ran a few feet, and finally, as we rolled forward, even flew a few feet, but did not leave the area.

We left the shop and had dinner. My brother was to stop by the shop again on his way home. Shortly afterwards, he called with a bird update. It seems that the female bird had just laid an egg in the gravel outside the shop door ~ not a very private home, and no real "nest" The egg was larger than a robin's egg, and gray, speckled with black. It matched the gravel very well. I grabbed an encyclopedia and found a bird with similar stripes: a killdeer. The picture wasn't very clear, so I wasn't sure. A quick Google image search verified it immediately. Our bird was a killdeer. Clicking on the link, I found that killdeer are water birds (hence the long legs and stream-lined bodies), but they often make their "nests" near man, choosing gravel, unpaved roads, and roofs. In that respect, they are similar to pigeons. They are precocial, developing early, and are able to run about very soon after hatching, like chickens and quail. So, as per our original guesses, we had found a quail-like water bird that behaves like a pigeon. According to bird counts, they are slightly off the beaten path here in the North Georgia mountains ~ but they are not unheard of. Perhaps the arrival of these city dwellers is a premonition of urban sprawl into the mountains. This pair has taken up residence in our gravel parking lot. Although their nesting place seems ill-chosen, this is typical and apparently works well for the species. There are woods near the shop, though, so this couple will have a time keeping their eggs away from raccoons and snakes. We'll be keeping an eye out to see if they manage to hatch any chicks. ((Sighting: 2 April 2006)

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