This week I'm taking a break from the colors of nature (no fooling!) and focusing on ways that animals fool predators and humans. Today's trickster is the killdeer. These shorebirds lay their eggs on the ground. If you approach a nest, the female will put on an elaborate, Oscar-worthy performance. She will pretend to have a broken wing and stumble away from the nest. If you follow her, after you are far enough away, she will be miraculously cured and fly off knowing that you will never find her well-hidden nest again. Once I was at a put-put golf course with my kids. One of my boys hit a ball off course and it landed near a killdeer nest. Mom immediately went into her dramatic ruse and my son was devastated because he thought he hurt a mother bird. I led him closer to her until she flew and assured him that she was just fine! #aprilfools #natureclub #birds #killdeer

Posted by Mel Grosvenor at 2021-03-29 13:03:21 UTC