The killdeer bird couple are a new critter for us, having nested in such a heavy traffic area we can not help but be amused by their antics. I have observed this species nesting before but never on a daily basis. After a while their song loses some of its musicality and hovers between a piercing shriek and fingernails on the chalkboard. These birds definitely get your attention. In order to protect this pair from being crushed by our vehicles we flagged the nest. I wonder if that draws attention from other potential predators. Building your nest on the ground in the open does not seem like a optimal strategy for procreation if you ask me.
Killdeer mate for one to several years. They use their wings to scrape out a small depression in soft dirt, sand or gravel often adding bits of other materials. Both the male and female sit on the nest protecting the precious eggs from weather and predation. When the parents perceive a threat to their eggs they begin high pitched vocalizations, hop off the nest and drag a wing while twirling in circles of near collapse in an effort to draw potential diners away from their babies and onto themselves. Such behavior is both effective and entertaining for us humans, my dogs have recently taken to killdeer patrolling as she is just beyond the limit of their invisible fence.
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