Hi~

This morning while walking up the path along the ball field to work/school, I received a birth announcement from right field.  An adult Killdeer with a “broken wing” alerted me to the hatching of their brood!  There were no chicks to be seen.  I checked the protected grassy alcove near the old high school where the chicks spend their first day once they’ve landed (from the roof), but no sign of them there either.  At break time, I investigated further...heading to the top floor of the vacant Hinesburg High School building.  It’s a perfect vantage point for viewing  the stony roof of the 1958 elementary wing where they nest.  However, in the seven years I’ve worked at this school, I have never been able to locate a nest or chick!  Today was different.  One Killdeer parent flew in to take over brooding duties and nearby a fluff ball of a chick on stilts was foraging among mossy islands covering roof rocks.  If not for its telltale hick-up-bop, I’m not sure I would have been able to find the little deer.  

But the story doesn’t end there.  Every year I have shared the Killdeer debut with anyone willing to stop and look.  My motto, “everyone is a birder, it’s just some people don’t know it yet,” is revealed on their faces when they do SEE!   Awesome stewards have emerged as well!  We (humans) have unintentionally created this breeding habitat for them with so many dangerous obstacles to navigate.  It’s the least we can do to provide (minimal) accommodations to see they reach the safety of the fields....Adults watch from a distance as adult Killdeer lead their young around the building, past curbs and storm drains, away from traffic and traps like open sheds.  They redirect kids charging outside for recess.  One year signs appeared in the upper parking lot:  Careful Baby Birds!   And then there’s Jason!  He maintains the grounds, and is always on alert while mowing.  He knows to watch for the adults’ distraction display, that it means the young may be hunkered down in the grass and impossible to see.  Today I noticed he’d installed a steel cage over a storm drain in the grassy alcove area.  Nice!  

But really, the very best thing to happen over the past seven years, happened today when I shared the enthusiasm and joy of seeing these birds with the newest member of the club....the principal!  

Ali
Hinesburg Community School