2017-07-22 Killdeer Chicks | shadeTreeImaging

After breakfast yesterday I chased the killdeer chicks at the Community Park in Poway along Rattlesnake Creek that my good friends Charlie and Kirsten told me about. It wasn’t the best light, but I found the birds and spent perhaps 15 minutes with them. Though there was about 50 feet between me and the birds, the mom was vigilant, barking orders to her progeny. Just before leaving, I watched her giving vocal commands, causing the four chicks to assemble and sit down tight together. It was interesting to see how the chicks tuned in to her, tilting their heads as their attention was diverted from foraging to becoming obscure. I snapped a couple more shots of them grouped in their squat, then walked back to my parking spot and headed home.