At my office they've been nesting in a really bad place. It's right on the corner of a cement island right next to a heavily used parking spot.
Right on the corner there's a crack in the cement.
We've been getting heavy rain for the last few weeks. Today though it was crazy!
So as I'm walking to my car, I notice the killdeer is out of her nest and running around making lots of noise. She's very upset at something. That's when I see it:
The nest is flooded!
What I figured out was that the crack could act as drainage but the killdeers blocked it.
So I intervened. I'm not sure if I did the right thing or if it was pointless anyway. I managed to clear out some debris in order to get the water to drain away from the nest. Then I managed to place some rocks, pebbles and grass under the eggs in order to lift them out of the water. I don't have a pic of that since the parents were nearby and freaking out. I just wanted to get out of there ASAP.
As I left and looked back I could see one of the parents walking around the fixed nest and even over it. But I didn't see it actually sit down on the eggs. I guess I'll see what happens tomorrow.
It's been quite cold and wet lately and when I raised the eggs out of the water, they felt quite cold. I wonder if my efforts were all in vain. I wonder if it was the right thing to do at all?
Take a look at the attached photos, I just couldn't leave those eggs submerged!
Clarification: The first photo, with the killdeer, was taken a few weeks ago when they first started nesting. You can clearly see the cracked cement on the corner which I used as a drain today. The second photo shows 3 of the 4 eggs completely submerged. the water isn't draining through that crack because it's blocked by debris.
Right on the corner there's a crack in the cement.
We've been getting heavy rain for the last few weeks. Today though it was crazy!
So as I'm walking to my car, I notice the killdeer is out of her nest and running around making lots of noise. She's very upset at something. That's when I see it:
The nest is flooded!
What I figured out was that the crack could act as drainage but the killdeers blocked it.
So I intervened. I'm not sure if I did the right thing or if it was pointless anyway. I managed to clear out some debris in order to get the water to drain away from the nest. Then I managed to place some rocks, pebbles and grass under the eggs in order to lift them out of the water. I don't have a pic of that since the parents were nearby and freaking out. I just wanted to get out of there ASAP.
As I left and looked back I could see one of the parents walking around the fixed nest and even over it. But I didn't see it actually sit down on the eggs. I guess I'll see what happens tomorrow.
It's been quite cold and wet lately and when I raised the eggs out of the water, they felt quite cold. I wonder if my efforts were all in vain. I wonder if it was the right thing to do at all?
Take a look at the attached photos, I just couldn't leave those eggs submerged!
Clarification: The first photo, with the killdeer, was taken a few weeks ago when they first started nesting. You can clearly see the cracked cement on the corner which I used as a drain today. The second photo shows 3 of the 4 eggs completely submerged. the water isn't draining through that crack because it's blocked by debris.
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