Readers of JBRish know that we have been hosting a mother Killdeer while she incubates eggs in her nest. A couple of days ago, the mother was off the nest for a moment while we were working in the front yard and I noticed that only three of the four eggs remained.
This morning, I did not see the mother on the nest so once again I walked over to the nest to see that there were no eggs or remnants of eggs.
I think perhaps that the eggs were eaten by a predator since there were no broken shell pieces to be found. I looked for chicks, but could not find any. I will continue to search for baby Killdeer, but they may have become part of the “circle of life.”
(The eggs were to the right and just below the single weed we let grow in deference to the bird. As is customary with Killdeer, she lined the nest with small pebbles; nothing soft)
To read the other JBRish posts about our Killdeer visitors:
Birds of Arizona – Killdeer ( Charadrius vociferus )
Killdeer Eggs in Our Yard; Oh My!
For more information about the Killdeer’s rearing process, you can read The Precocious Killdeer.
All photographs are Copyright by Jeffrey B. Ross with ALL Rights Reserved
See previous Life in the Desert posts HERE
See previous JBRish posts about birds HERE