Killdeer - So cool

Okay, so I know this is random, but I have to take nature where I can get it now that we've moved form the farm. So, while Jeremy and Logan were playing soccer in the backyard over the weekend we heard a very loud, very insistent bird. Our search for the boisterous bird quickly turned up this little girl.

After some googling, I found out she's a Killdeer (thus named because the sound they make sounds like they're saying "kill deer"). Anyway, they are ground nesters and have these beautiful speckled eggs. Whenever perceived predators approach, the mom will run away from the nest a put on a little show. She stumbles around, contorting her wings as if they were broken in an attempt to make herself more appealing to the predator than her precious eggs.

Totally cool little bird. I'm gonna try to keep an eye on her nest to see of I can catch the hatching on film.

And there's your NatGEO lesson for the day!