Name that bird

[Teegate]

I took a ride with my mom, Jessica, and my brother to Bridgeport NJ to visit the cemetery where many of my family are located, and was confronted with a bird that was sitting on eggs on the ground in the middle of the cemetery. Does anyone know what kind of bird this is? Sorry about the blurry photo's, but I had to use the zoom and it was so windy there that I could not hold the camera steady.

http://www.njpinebarrens.com/~teegate/3212004/IMG_3217.jpg

You can see the eggs in this one.

http://www.njpinebarrens.com/~teegate/3212004/IMG_3211.jpg


On the way home my mom showed us the long abondened road that is now fenced off where my grandfather was born and raised, and his mom plowed and worked the fields to support the family. The photo shows the poles and chain blocking the road.

http://www.njpinebarrens.com/~teegate/3212004/IMG_3218.jpg

Guy

 

[bach2yoga]

It's a type of belted plover called Killdeer. See the two black bands on its chest? That's the biggest distinguisher between that and other plovers. (Sometimes the babies will have only one band) If you get near the nest it will often pretend that it has a broken wing and get you to follow it away from the nest, then all of the sudden its wing "heals" and it flies off calling "kill-deer, kill-deer". You've probably heard them before.
The babies aren't waited on like alot of other birds--they can't fly, but they start moving around and feeding themselves as soon as they dry out.
Renee

 

[Teegate]

Thanks. They did walk away from the nest, and a while later I walked right by the eggs and didn't even see them. They are well camouflaged.

Guy