Correction: Killdeer - not Snowy plover

Photo by Bruce Hill

The beautiful bird with the demanding chicks is a Killdeer - not a Snowy plover.

According to Bird Lady Christine Southwick:

Killdeer will nest in the open, almost anywhere — their nest is a scape in the rocks, even road shoulders, sometimes in the edge of a less-used lawn.

An easy way to identify Killdeer (besides their loud “Killdeer call), is the double necklace at the top of their breast — they are the only birds in this area that you will see with that double marking at the throat.

The babies are “precocial”, meaning that they are born fully developed (though small) and can start feeding themselves immediately. They stay around their parents for protection.

Snowy Plovers are on the endangered list, and are only found on sandy areas — here in Washington on the coast.

A small pale bird, humans disturbance of their hard-to-see nests on the beaches has reduced their numbers to the point that “Washington State lists it as endangered, and both Partners in Flight and the Washington Gap Analysis include it on their 'at-risk' list.”