Nice shot of the sun setting in the header. Are you getting smoke where you are? The killdeer video is interesting. I’m wondering if that was normal behavior or was it perturbed? How close were you?
Yes, that is normal behavior. Killdeer typically bob when they are foraging for food. If threatened, they will become very loud and aggressive. It does puff itself up to appear larger in much the same way a person would try to appear larger to a bear.
If the bird is nesting it will try to get you to follow it away from the nest though they typically brood further inland.
I was actually lying on the grass taking video of boats in the harbor when the bird popped up from the rocks below. Killdeer are very tolerant of people. This particular bird was most curious, and clearly not afraid. They will always make eye contact to let you know they are there.
Of course, it’s my prime objective to not disturb wildlife which is why I use a long lens. I wasn’t as close as the image appears.
H.J., it’s all about being in the right place at the right time. I mentioned to Gunta that I was actually filming boats as they navigated the harbor. The shoreline is fortified with boulders, and this little bird just appeared from the rocks.
I suspect, by its behavior, that it may have been nesting close by. It didn’t display the typical “broken wing” behavior as I was passively lying on the ground … which, by the way, provided the angle for these wonderful images.
An avian photographer once told me that the best images are captured at eye level, but if I hadn’t been at that spot, at that moment, it wouldn’t have happened. I was there to photograph boats not birds.
The lesson for me is to always have my camera ready and be prepared for just the right opportunity.
In Pics and Words 
Nice shot of the sun setting in the header. Are you getting smoke where you are? The killdeer video is interesting. I’m wondering if that was normal behavior or was it perturbed? How close were you?
LikeLiked by 1 person
There are no fires where I live.
Yes, that is normal behavior. Killdeer typically bob when they are foraging for food. If threatened, they will become very loud and aggressive. It does puff itself up to appear larger in much the same way a person would try to appear larger to a bear.
If the bird is nesting it will try to get you to follow it away from the nest though they typically brood further inland.
I was actually lying on the grass taking video of boats in the harbor when the bird popped up from the rocks below. Killdeer are very tolerant of people. This particular bird was most curious, and clearly not afraid. They will always make eye contact to let you know they are there.
Of course, it’s my prime objective to not disturb wildlife which is why I use a long lens. I wasn’t as close as the image appears.
LikeLike
That’s really remarkable. Hard to imagine a bird that tolerant. Great job catching that action and I admire your patience.
LikeLike
Lovely
LikeLiked by 2 people
great pictures and film
LikeLiked by 1 person
I read that a Killdeer was once spotted in Lancashire, and in Ireland. I wonder how they got there.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Excellent photos, David. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
H.J., it’s all about being in the right place at the right time. I mentioned to Gunta that I was actually filming boats as they navigated the harbor. The shoreline is fortified with boulders, and this little bird just appeared from the rocks.
I suspect, by its behavior, that it may have been nesting close by. It didn’t display the typical “broken wing” behavior as I was passively lying on the ground … which, by the way, provided the angle for these wonderful images.
An avian photographer once told me that the best images are captured at eye level, but if I hadn’t been at that spot, at that moment, it wouldn’t have happened. I was there to photograph boats not birds.
The lesson for me is to always have my camera ready and be prepared for just the right opportunity.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Awesome!!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Great images of a cute bird.
LikeLiked by 1 person