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Killdeer nest advice? (1 Viewer)

wpascarelli

New member
Hello,
I am new to this forum and I hope this is a good place to find information about my predicament.
My home backs up to a pond. Early every spring a pair of killdeer make a nest and lay 1 clutch of 4 eggs in my backyard. They nest within about a foot or 2 of the same spot every year, which is also about a foot and a half from the edge of the water.
Normally there are not any issues, however this year with only a couple of days to go before the eggs would likely hatch, we experienced a whole week of very heavy rains, and the water level rose incredibly high very quickly. I think 1 or 2 of the eggs may have even hatched, but any of the 1-2 day old babies plus the unhatched eggs did not survive. The adult killdeer were able to get away. A week after the storms had ended, the water was subsiding but still it was higher than it normally is. I noticed the killdeer had returned and were hanging out near the edge of the water. Soon I noticed that they had laid another batch of 4 eggs. Luckily, since then there has been very little rain and the eggs have been safe.
Again, with just days to go until hatching time, it rained heavily for a full day yesterday. The water levels were still a bit higher than normal due to the previously mentioned flooding. Because of this, the water is now starting to slightly cover the nest and the eggs are basically in a shallow layer of water. I have also noticed that the killdeer are not sitting on the eggs at the moment, but hopefully they return.
I have pushed the eggs a few inches back just so they do not totally float away in the water. Its sad because i know that these eggs are within just a few days of hatching and I do not want to lose a 2nd batch.
I am wondering if there is anything else that I could do or is it best just to leave them right where they are and hope for the best?
 
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