The long driveway that lead up to, and circled around the church house was kept neatly graveled. I always liked the sound the steel buggy wheels made as they drove over it as Dad guided our horse up to the porch along the front of the church house to let Mom and me get off the buggy.
We had done it the same way every church Sunday for years, but this Sunday was different. As we approached the porch we noticed several pieces of rebar stuck into the middle of the driveway. Dad slowed our horse from a gentle trot, down to a slow walk as we approached. We turned out to drive on the grass to avoid hitting the rebar.
Mom and I got off the buggy and walked the short extra distance to the porch steps. As we crossed the driveway we could see the reason for the rebar. A killdeer had decided to build its nest right there and four eggs were blending into their gravel nest.
I'm sure it seemed like the perfect spot during the week with no activity happening nearby, but Sunday morning was quite another story. The poor bird fluttered and cried all morning until we all left after church services.
Two weeks later there were little killdeer in the nest as we again all drove around it. The mother was not at all impressed with all the activity around her precious babies.
By the next church Sunday the little family had moved on. The rebar had been removed, and normal driving up to the porch had resumed.
Until the next summer when the killdeer was back for another round.
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Your story reminds me of a neighbor woman who is long gone now. They had propane tanks for here cooking stove outside and the wrens would build a nest among the tops of them. She would move the nest very gently so the gas man could replace the propane and then after he left she would put it back into position.
ReplyDeleteSo sweet! But what is a killdeer? It's not a name I know.
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DeleteIt's a type of bird, part of the plover family, for what that's worth. They lay their eggs in the darndest places, and if you get too close Mum will flutter around as if she has a broken wing, to draw you away from the eggs. Here's a picture of one: https://tinyurl.com/ve6vdhe
DeleteThank you! I think it is similar to our Plover maybe.
DeleteI love seeing Killdeer here in FL but haven't seen a nest yet! What a good story and memory. Take care and stay healthy this week!
ReplyDeleteWe have lots of killdeer near our trailer at the lake. The mother always has panic attacks when we walk our dog too close to the nests. The dog would never hurt the babies but mama bird doesn't know that so she cries and acts like she's injured to draw us away.
ReplyDeleteI love how everyone in your church cared for the little birds. That's saying so much about the character of the people.
Blessings,
Betsy
The Killdeer will choose most any spot for a nest.
ReplyDeleteOh, I so enjoy reading the stories of your childhood!
ReplyDeleteI had to look up what a Killdeer looks like...I had never heard of them before!
Blessings in Christ,
~ Kelly-Anne
I'm glad it was noticed that it was doing that, so the bird and babies could stay safe, even with all the church-going traffic.
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