Killdeer at Oceanport

The only killdeer I'd ever seen was at Old Wharf Park in Oceanport, NJ. So this morning I went back there again after five years to see if lightning might strike twice. At first, I was disappointed, but I hung in there and suddenly a couple of them showed up.



Unlike last time, when the one bird I saw essentially stayed in the same spot on the beach, these two were all over the place. They'd fly a small loop, alight on the grass and then set off at high speed, usually, but not always, towards the water. This was the only shot where the two of them were in the same frame.



Oh what a great shot this might have been had the bird only cooperated and glanced in my general direction. This was the closest I was able to get to either of the birds.



This picture gives a good impression of how fast it was running. Look at the length of that stride.



And here, it performed its idiosyncratic broken-wing trick to lead predators away from its young, although I don't think there were any young in the vicinity.



Here's another broken wing display. This photo is a tad sharper, but neither of the broken wing shots came out very well.



They say the bird is named for its call, but the only sound I heard them make was a high pitched almost continuous keening noise.