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Penny's Bend, Re: killdeer/plover, nest sharing



Hi Carolinabirders,

Led my Ecology lab section to Penny's Bend yesterday afternoon. Even in
the afternoon heat, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Northern Parulas, and at least
one Ovenbird were singing away; thought I heard a Wood Thrush, but it
didn't repeat itself so I couldn't confirm. Wildflowers are transitioning:
the early spring ephemerals like Spring Beauty and Dutchman's Breeches
were virtually gone (there were hundreds of each a week and a half ago!),
while a few Atamasco Lilies and a Wild Indigo (Baptisia australis, I
think) had apparently just opened.

A very tardy female King Eider is being reported from the CBBT, islands 2
and 4, on the Washington DC RBA and the Virginia listserv. In the other
direction, not one but two La Sagra's Flycatchers are down in south
Florida; I hope they stick around for a while, I might be doing some
research/collecting down that way in about a month and a half...

On Wed, 17 Apr 2002, Kim Bruff wrote:
>
> I tried to make mental notes of what it
> looked like so I could look up the killdeer when I got
> home, but I noticed that it only had one dark ring
> around the neck.  My field guide lists a Wilson's
> Plover as being a shore bird.  Would it be out of the
> question for one to be 90 miles inland this time of
> year?  If a Wilson's plover would be too strange, any
> other suggestions as to what it might have been?

It seems a bit early for this, but fledgling Killdeer usually (always?)
have only one ring, not the usual two of adults. I've mostly seen this in
mid- to late summer. I would guess, though, that an early killdeer
fledgling seems more likely than a Wilson' Plover showing up in the grass
next to a parking lot.

On Wed, 17 Apr 2002, Steve Thomas wrote:
>
> Today I learned second-hand of a nest box in Pinehurst, NC where a nuthatch
> (sp?) and a bluebird have both apparently laid eggs and are now
> simultaneously raising young - both species carrying food to the
> fledglings.

I've actually read some observations of birds feeding chicks that were not
their own, or even their own species, before. But never heard of 2 species
sharing a nest before, except in cases of brood parasitism where only one
species is feeding the young...

Good birding,

Josh


Joshua S. Rose
Duke University
Department of Biology (Zoology, R.I.P.)

jsr6@duke.edu
http://www.duke.edu/~jsr6/