Lapwings and Plovers

Black-bellied Plover

Pluvialis squatarola    Late on the afternoon of 6 August 1977, as Chip Perrigo checked a borrow pit along West Kendall Road near the parkway, he heard the “mournful, plaintive cry” of a lone Black-bellied Plover approaching from a nearby field where plovers often stop to rest and feed. “Black-bellied Plovers will often investigate any reasonable imitation of their call so I whistled in return, hoping the bird would come closer,” Perrigo related. It worked. “The plover flew close overhead and began circling clockwise over the borrow pit, but with each revolution the tempo and volume of its calls became increasingly frantic.” At that point Perrigo spotted five “dark pinpoints” approaching from the north, high out over the lake. “As the specks approached the shoreline I realized that they too were Black-bellied Plovers, holding a tight formation . . . The five shorebirds began a slow glide towards the now silent singular plover. They joined together, steeply banked to the left and quickly followed the one bird back to the field from which it had come.” Had the single plover anticipated the arrival of the other birds, and “headed out to escort them back to safety and plentiful food”? Or was it just an “incredibly precise coincidence? I would like to think not, and maybe someday, someone will prove that other animals possess unknown remarkable powers that will earn our even greater respect for all living creatures.” (LG, August 1977)“The plaintive whistle of this plover is often heard high in the air in migration time when the birds themselves are quite beyond vision,” Eaton (1910) observed. (Eaton I: 346)A winter-plumaged Black-bellied Plover that happens to be at Ontario Beach the same morning that a beginning birder’s field trip drops by will almost invariably be put to flight: its white tail and the black axillaries, or wingpits, help to separate it from American Golden-Plover.
Background
“Wary and quick to give alarm calls, the Black-bellied Plover functions worldwide as a sentinel for mixed assemblages of shorebirds,” notes Dennis R. Paulson in his profile of this species for The Birds of North America series. Their alarm calls, for example, “elicit predator-evasion behavior in Dunlins.” That same wariness, coupled with high flight speed and relatively small flocks, apparently helped this species avoid being decimated by the market hunters of the late 1800s. This is a wide-ranging species, breeding in the high Arctic of North America and Eurasia, and wintering across a broad range of tropical and temperate latitudes. Breeding habitat appears secure from human disturbance because of its remoteness. (BNA 186: 1-2, 12, 17-18)
Local history
Eaton (1910) listed it as a fairly common transient visitor for Monroe County, also occurring in Wayne but with no indication of occurrence in Livingston. (Eaton I: county charts) R. E. Horsey, in his listing of birds seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913 to 1936, indicated this had been seen almost exclusively as a fall migrant, only one or two birds at a time, on dates ranging from 9 September to 2 November. He listed one spring record, a single bird on 26 May 1935. When Leo Tanghe examined the returns from 1,665 outings by Genesee Ornithological Society members within a 50-miles radius of Rochester from 1951-1954, he found this species reported 124 times, about 2.5 times more often than American Golden-plover, and about middle of the pack of all shorebird species in frequency of sightings. It was more often encountered in fall (100 sightings) when highest average counts of 5 to 7 were seen. (KB 5: 69: 2A-2B)
Status
Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a regular, uncommon spring transient and a regular, common fall transient.Livingston County, Fox (1998) considered this a (presumably irregular) uncommon spring transient and an irregular uncommon fall transient.
Occurrence
Spring: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 16 April to 27 May, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 3 to 21 May. Note: The record early date given by the annotated list apparently was overlooked when one at Hamlin Beach SP on 19 April 1994 (Symonds) was reported as record early. (GOS, June 1994)In most years had departed by 2 June, with a late departure date of 24 June (1965).
Spring maxima:      46 max. on 19-20 May 1986 (Nicoletti) along the west lakeshore. (GOS, November 1986)      50 on 1 June 1961 (Listman) migrating past Braddock Bay. (KB11: 157)
Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 30 July to 27 September, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 8 August to 7 September. Subsequently, one on 1 July 1987 (R. Clark, Davids) at Hamlin was “quite early.” (LG, September 1987; KB 37: 223) However, two on 17 July 2007 (Symonds, D. Tetlow) at Hamlin Beach were subsequently listed as record early. (LG, September 2007) In most years had departed by 13 November, with a late departure date of 28 November.This migrant, more common in fall than spring, visits beaches and mudflats along Lake Ontario, but it can also be found in plowed and muddy farm fields. Fox indicates many Livingston County sightings are in wet or muddy fields that have been disked flat. (Fox, p. 45)  Fall maxima:     100 on 27 August 1955 (O’Hara) at Summerville. (GOS, April-December 1955)       60 on 31 August 2005 (R. Spahn) at Hamlin. (LG, October 2005)     200+ on 7 September 1981 (mob) from Hamlin Beach SP to Pt. Breeze during a fallout of migrating shorebirds. (LG, October 1981; see Hudsonian Godwit profile for description of conditions that led to grounding)     75 on 2 October 1966 (Listman) at Shore Acres. (KB 17: 31)     63 on 5 October 2006 (R. Spahn) at Hamlin Beach SP. (LG, December 2006)     50 on 10 October 1959 (Listman) at Salmon Creek. (GNR)      60 on 21 October 2004 (R. Spahn) at Hamlin. (LG, December 2004)     Winter: An immature at Braddock Bay 6 and 20 December 1998 (Sherony; S., C. and R. Spahn) lingered long enough to be included on the Rochester CBC. (GOS, February 1999)

American Golden-Plover

(formerly Lesser Golden Plover)Pluvialis dominica
Two magnetic forces were at work during the fall of 1979. One was the freshly plowed earth along Jacobs Road in Hamlin, in fields “teeming with juicy invertebrate life to sate the migrating shorebird,” Chip Perrigo observed. The other was presence of American Golden-Plovers that had paused to take advantage of this wonderful stopover place. “Like most shorebirds they are highly gregarious,” Perrigo added. “A few birds will attract even more, and so on, like a self-perpetuating force which grows even stronger with increasing size. . .” And that’s apparently what happened along Jacobs Road. “Whatever plovers had been locally passing over were instinctively drawn in by the magnetism of companionship with their own kind, eventually precipitating a massive aggregation of birds in one small field.” (LG, October 1979)Make that 512 – at that time an unprecedented tally for our region – on 1 October.Hundreds lingered in the same area into the latter part of the month, Perrigo added. When an RBA field trip paused to observe the birds, “a gigantic immature Goshawk cruised over the bumpy field where the plovers were cryptically congregated,” Perrigo reported. “In sudden panic (the plovers) rose in unison and began a classic series of evasive maneuvers – a humbling sight as the densely packed birds banked, looped, and wheeled in unerring synchronization for many minutes. The danger safely passed and the flock resettled with equal precision and grace.” (LG, November 1979) Later in the day, John Brown dropped by the field and marveled at how hundreds of these birds could seemingly disappear when sitting still. “It was virtually impossible to pick out a single bird among the stones, clods of earth and clumps of vegetation without the aid of binoculars. Resting in the warm, mid-day sun, the birds were not moving around and blended perfectly into their surroundings.” (BA, 24 October 1979)
Background
Like other plovers, these birds run rapidly over the ground in search of food, then stop suddenly and “stand erect in graceful pose,” Eaton (1910) wrote. “When flying from one part of the field to another they utter their mellow whistling note and alight with upstretched wings to scatter immediately in further search for food.” (Eaton I: 348)This medium-sized plover, noted for its stop-run-stop style of foraging, breeds in dry, rocky, sparsely vegetated tundra from Alaska across northern Canada, and rarely in eastern Siberia. It winters in South America, making one of the longer migrations in the world. In fall large numbers of birds, particularly adults, “drift southeastward, making one or more stops . . . before transatlantic flight to South America,” notes the profile of this species in The Birds of North America series. Well known for “elliptical” pattern of migration: offshore nonstop Atlantic route in fall, midcontinental flyway in spring. Capable of high-speed flight. Populations were devastated by overhunting during the late 1800s. The double-noted whistle of these migrants has a “sad and searching quality, as if calling for the vanished legions of their kind that once swarmed in vast migrations across the continent,” John Brown noted in 1965. (BA, 2 September 1965) They have rebounded after protection, but increased monitoring is needed to assess current population and trends. (BNA 201: 1, 5, 8, 25)
Local history
“Formerly abundant, the Golden Plover was considered a great delicacy, and shot in large numbers for the market,” Bull (1974) noted. “It had become very scarce by the early 1890s and remained so until the 1920s when, afforded protection, it reappeared again in small numbers.” (Bull, p. 232)Eaton (1910) listed it as a fairly common transient visitor in Monroe County, also occurring in Wayne but with no indication of occurrence in Livingston. (Eaton I: county charts)However, R. E. Horsey, in his listing of birds seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913 to 1936, listed only two records: on 22 September and 14 October 1934, with a maximum count of two.So 26 on 9 October 1949 (mob) at Shore Acres was a “practically unheard of concentration” in our area (GOS, August/October 1949). Another 210 on 1 May 1954 (Listman) were seen flying in flocks east along the west lakeshore (GOS, May/August 1954; KB4:47); 34 on 2 October 1954 (Listman, O’Hara) were at Shore Acres (GOS, September/October 1954) and 84 on 30 September 1958 (Listman) were at Lighthouse Road. (GNR)  They are traditionally more common here in fall than spring. For example when Leo Tanghe tallied up the sightings by Genesee Ornithological Society members within a 50-miles radius of Rochester for the years 1951-1954, he could find only four sightings of this species in spring, compared to 41 in fall. However, best average counts of 100 to 200 were in spring. That total of 45 sightings put this species in the lower third of shorebirds in terms of frequency of sightings. (KB5: 69: 2A-2B) Only in recent years had it become numerous again, Bull wrote in 1974. He cited 183 on 4 September 1959 (Listman) at Lighthouse Road (GNR) and 200 on 15 September 1970 (Foster) at Lima (GNR) as good fall counts,
Status    Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as an occasional, rare spring transient and a regular, fairly common to very common fall transient.Livingston County, Fox (1998) considered this a casual rare spring transient and a (presumably irregular) fairly common to very common fall transient.
Occurrence
Spring: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of dates from 4 April to 17 May.     Note that one on 7 March 1986 (Nicoletti, Dodge) at Braddock Bay, one on 27 March 1988 (R. Dobson) at Troutburg and two on 30 March 1992 (Browning, C. Cass, D. Traver) at Hamlin were all earlier, but there is no indication they were considered record early migrants. (GNR)     Five on 4 June 1993 (C. Cass) west lakeshore were later. (GNR)    Best spring flights on record occurred in 1954, as reflected in maxima below.
Spring maxima:   100 on 21 April 1954 (Van Beurden, Barker) at Braddock Bay. (GOS, March/April 1954)   100 on 1 May 1954 (Schaffner) at Shore Acres (GOS, May/August 1954), the same day as …   210 on 1 May 1954 (Listman) seen flying in flocks east along the lakeshore. (GOS, May/August 1954; KB4:47)
Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 4 August to 27 September, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 22 August to 7 September. However, one on 25 July 1980 (Davids) at Carlton Station was even earlier. (LG, August 1980) In most years had departed by 3 November, with a late departure date of 3 December (1960) when Kemnitzer found one at the Irondequoit Bay outlet. (KB 11: 45)They are especially fond of plowed fields. However, the fairways of Happy Acres golf course in Webster hosted 80 early in the morning on 29 September 1962. (BA, 4 October 1962, GNR)   Note the spectacular concentrations that occurred in 1979 and 1981 (see Hudsonian Godwit for account of the conditions that led to the grounding in 1981). It has been much less common in recent years. This species was “non-existent” in October 2002 after being “very scarce” in September. (LG, November, December 2002) The following fall there were no flocks reported along the west lakeshore, which would have been “unheard of just five years ago,” notes Dominic Sherony. However, the very next year 240 were tallied along the west lakeshore 10 September during the fallout from Hurricane Frances.
Fall maxima:      200-500 on 1-6 September 1981 (mob) Hamlin Beach to Pt. Breeze. (LG, October 1981)    1,000 on 7 September 1981 (mob) Hamlin Beach to Pt. Breeze. (LG, October 1981)      200-500 on 8-13 September 1981 (mob) from Hamlin Beach SP to Pt. Breeze. (LG, October 1981)       240 on 10 September 2004 (D. Tetlow) along the west lakeshore. (LG, December 2004)      200 on 13 September 1987 (A. and J. Foster) along Nations Road. (LG, October 1987)       200 on 15 September 1970 (Foster) at Lima. (GNR)      400 on 15 September 1982 (Perrigo, Symonds) Hamlin Beach SP. (LG, October 1982)       221 on 22 September 1977 (N. Henderson) at Kendall. (GNR)      450 on 29-30 September 1979 (Kemnitzer, Perrigo, Symonds) at Hamlin. (LG, October 1979)      512 on 1 October 1979 (Perrigo) at Hamlin. (LG, November 1979)      350 on 21 October 1979 (RBA trip) at Hamlin. (LG, November 1979)

Semipalmated Plover

Charadrius semipalmatus
“While visiting the mud flats in August, I have sometimes thought them entirely deserted, and have stood looking into the distance in search of migrants, when suddenly I became aware that these gentle little birds were all about me,” Eaton (1910) wrote. “They seemed so soft and chubby and unsuspicious as they trotted about my feet . . . that, although they were legal game, it would have been like making war upon babes and innocents to shoot them.” (Eaton I: 353)Frank Dobson, observing shorebirds at a pool near Buck Pond in September 1984, observed how two Semipalmated Plovers, “with typical plover-like action” would “take a step, pause, vibrate a yellow foot to stir the muddy water, pluck an unseen morsel, and repeat the procedure, again and again.” (Birds, 23 September 1984)
Background
This is one of the few plovers whose numbers are apparently increasing, “perhaps owing to its versatility in food and habitat choice, its widespread coastal winter distribution, or its habitat expansion in the sub-Arctic as a result of disturbance by both humans and arctic geese,” notes the profile of the species in The Birds of North America series. It nests on sand and gravel shorelines, shale areas, grassy borders and tundra near lakes, marshes and rivers in Alaska, across northern Canada, along the shorelines of Hudson and James bays and across the extreme northern Maritimes. Nests have been found atop buildings and on gravel pads constructed for oil and gas reserves. It winters along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts from California and New Jersey, south through Central into South America. Not considered endangered. (BNA 444: 1, 6, 18)
Local history
Eaton (1910) listed this as a common transient visitor in Monroe and Wayne counties, also occurring in Livingston. (Eaton I: county charts)R. E. Horsey, in his listing of birds seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913 to 1936, indicated average spring counts of one to two birds, with a maximum count of 37, on dates ranging from 19 April to 6 June. Average fall counts were one to four, with a maximum of 20, on dates ranging from 26 July to 24 October. When Leo Tanghe examined the returns from 1,665 outings by Genesee Ornithological Society members within a 50-miles radius of Rochester from 1951-1954, he found Semipalmated Plover reported 255 times, making it the sixth most frequently encountered of 31 shorebird species. Most reports (125) were last half of August through September, but best average counts, 20-30, were in the first half of May. (KB 5: 69: 2A-2B)
Status
Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a regular, common spring and fall transient.Livingston County, Fox (1998) considered this a (presumably regular) fairly common spring and fall transient.
Occurrence
Spring: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 15 April to 29 May, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 10 to 20 May. Subsequently, one on 27 March 1994 (T. Hampson) at Hamlin set a new record early date. (GOS, May 1994)In most years had departed by 7 June, with a late departure date of 19 June. This migrant is commonly seen in small numbers along Lake Ontario beaches and mudflats and in wet or muddy farm fields.
Spring maxima: 65 on 18 May 1966 (Listman) west lakeshore. (GOS, July/September 1966) 120 max. from 18-31 May 1948 (Chapin) at Groveland. (GOS, May/July 1948) 100 on 23 May 1971 (Listman et al) along the west lakeshore. (GNR) 43 on 27 May 2005 (Sherony) Perinton. (LG, July/August 2005)
Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 3 July (1958) to 19 August, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 23 to 31 July. Subsequently, one on 19 June 2001 (Symonds, D. Tetlow) at Hamlin Beach was an even earlier “first” of fall. (GNR) In most years had departed by 29 October, with a late departure date of 7 December. Subsequently, one very late straggler at Braddock Bay 1-9 December 1987 (S. Carlson, Davids, D. Tetlow) set a new record late date. (LG, January 1988)
Fall maxima: 30 on 9 September 2004 (D. Tetlow) along the west lakeshore after Hurricane Frances. (LG, December 2004) 30 on 16 August 1959 (Listman) Braddock Bay. (GNR)

Piping Plover*

Charadrius melodus
On a cloudy, raw, rainy April morning, a group of Rochester birders huddled under umbrellas, buffeted by the wind on the west side of Irondequoit Bay outlet. Fingers became numb; beads of moisture accumulated on lenses. What would draw anyone out in such conditions?How about a Piping Plover? And a very cooperative one at that? One of the birders described in his diary entry for 21 April 1993 how the bird wandered off about 100 yards onto private beach, but eventually came back to within 30 or 40 feet of the birders. The birder shot the remainder of a roll of film, “trying to focus despite numbing fingers and wind gusts that shake the camera.”  Later the bird gave its peep lo call, “a very mellow, beautiful call, and continued to work up and down the same 100-yard stretch of beach, at times passing within 15 or 20 feet of us, alternately pausing for a moment, then scampering off again in the same fashion as our more common semipalmated plovers…”
Background
Fewer than 2,500 breeding pairs of this small plover remained in the U.S. and Canada in 1991, symbolic of this species’ losing battle against human encroachment on the beaches where it nests. It now does so primarily along the Atlantic Coast from North Carolina to southern Canada, along portions of the western Great lakes and along rivers and wetlands of the northern Great Plains. Most wintering birds are found on coastal beaches and sandflats from the Carolinas to Yucatan. “Its coexistence with human use of beaches is increasingly dependent on management: fencing nests, restricting off-road vehicle access, and predator control,” notes Susan M. Haig in her profile of this species for The Birds of North America series. During the past 50 years it has disappeared as a breeder in several states and along Lake Ontario. Several factors have been cited: direct harassment of birds by people, dogs and vehicles; destruction of beach habitat for development projects, increased predation due to human presence, and regulated water levels. (BNA 2:1, 2, 13)
Local history
These pale plovers, so similar to the much more common Semipalmated Plover, have apparently always been rare here. Eaton (1910) believed it was “threatened with extirpation” in New York (Eaton I: 354) and listed it as only an occasional transient in Monroe County (county charts). Edson, too, writing in 1939 fretted that this species seemed “destined to become extinct,” (WBR, 4 September 1939) adding it was a “red-letter day indeed” when one was seen here. Away from Long Island, the few New York breeding areas on Lake Ontario’s east shore have been lost to recreation and development. John Brown, writing in 1964, described how a few pair had nested on the long spit at Sandy Pond at the east end of Lake Ontario “until just a few years ago. But now small planes use the beach as a landing strip, encroaching cottages are accompanied by the inevitable dogs and cats, and increasingly early parties of the beer can brigade have discouraged these attractive and interesting birds.” (BA, 8 October 1964) Bull (1974) said it had been extirpated as a breeder on the east shore of Lake Ontario. (Bull, p. 234) Only a single pair was confirmed breeding at Sandy Pond, Oswego County, during the first Breeding Bird Atlas project (1980-85) – after a hiatus of twenty-nine years. (Andrle, p. 148) No evidence of breeding was found there, or anywhere else in New York away from Long Island during the second project (2000-2005).“The future of the Piping Plover in New York depends largely on the protection of remaining shoreline habitats from further development and recreational disturbance,” David M. Peterson notes. (Andrle, p. 148)
Status
Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a casual, very rare spring visitant (at that time one record: 31 May-7 June 1953) and an occasional, very rare fall visitant.
Occurrence
The exact number of sightings here is cloudy. Edson had a record of this bird’s appearance at Little Sodus Bay in the fall of 1923 (WBR 1 October 1951); R. E. Horsey, in his listing of birds seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913 to 1936, listed only two Rochester records, 12 September 1934 and 22 September 1935. The latter “spent a few days along the lake shore at Rock Beach,” Edson reported. (WBR, 23 September 1935) For the next “some 30 years” this species made “very irregular” appearances here, “with intervals of about five years between visits,” Edson noted. (WBR, 4 September 1961) For example, Edson listed a sighting in late summer 1939 (WBR 4 September 1939) without giving the location. The next sighting apparently wasn’t until 17-20 September 1949 (Kemnitzers et al) near the Float Bridge on Irondequoit Bay. (GNR) One 22 September 1951 (Bieber) at the Summerville Beach “took off for points East,” and was presumably the one seen later that day (O’Hara) at Sodus [Point?], Edson reported. (WBR, 1 October 1951) Another 31 May 1953 (Miller) was at Ling Road. (GNR) After that, the record becomes murky. The Monroe County annotated list (1985) states that after the 1953 sighting there had no more satisfactory records. (AL, p. 27) And yet, at least three records, all of them by experienced birders, show up in the Kingbird, John Brown’s birding columns and previously unpublished Goshawk noteworthies lists during this time frame. 1. One on 16-17 Sept 1957 was seen “in company with several Semipalmated . . . plovers on the west spit of Braddock Bay” by Walt Listman. (BA, 19 Sept 1957) “It was in fall plumage with practically no ring to be seen at the base of the neck,” Brown noted. “. . . the same or another bird was again present Sept 23 in the same place,” Howard Miller reported in the Kingbird. (KB 7:120) 2. One on 8 Sept. 1958 at Mendon was observed by Listman. (Goshawk*) Both the Kingbird (see note below) and John Brown’s Birds Afield column of 11 September give the more likely location of Braddock’s Bay. Perhaps the same bird was reported from 13-16 Sept. 1958 at Braddock’s Bay by Tanghe, Dobson and Listman. (Goshawk*) Other sightings that fall included one on 18 October 1958 (O’Hara, Listman) at Salmon Creek. (Goshawk*) John Brown said the Salmon Creek bird was “in the company of two Ringed (Semipalmated) plovers, close enough for good comparative study.” (BA, 23 Oct 1958) Listman again reported one at Salmon Creek on 11 November 1958. (Goshawk*) The gaps in the 1958 dates suggest the possibility of two or more birds. In any event, Howard Miller’s region 2 Kingbird report for fall 1958 indicates that “A single Piping Plover appeared Sep 7 near Braddock’s Bay and a bird of this species was present until Nov 11, a very late date.” (KB 8:116) (* The Goshawk was not published during 1958. The breakdown of 1958 sightings comes from Gerhard Leubner’s previously unpublished records that are included in a bound copy of Goshawks now on file at UR’s Rare Books and Special Collections at Rush Rhees Library.) 3. One on 3 October 1964 (Listman et al) at Bradock Bay, the first in six years, lingered until 12 October. (GOS, December 1964; KB 15: 29) Alfred Starling listed this among the top 10 sightings of the year. (WBR, 18 January 1965) John Brown reported that as many as two birds were present. (BA, 8 October 1964) Nearly 30 more years elapsed before the next sighting, the first of only three recent records in our region: One 27 November-15 December 1991 (Beal, mob) Braddock Bay. (KB 42:30, 96) Accepted by NYSARC. (KB 43:21) One 21 April 1993 (Marcotte, mob) Irondequoit Bay outlet. (KB 43:222) Accepted by NYSARC. (KB 45:72) One 16-20 September 1996 (Symonds) Hamlin Beach. (KB 47:39)

Killdeer

Charadrius vociferous
Sooner or later, birders are bound to encounter a Killdeer on its nest, and if they approach closely, elicit the famous distraction display in which the bird feigns a broken wing to lure the intruder away. Members of a Genesee Ornithological Society field trip witnessed an additional tactic on 11 May 1991. A Killdeer was nesting on the lawn of the hotel at the west spit of Braddock Bay. “One of our group, who had a 35 mm. camera in hand, slowly approached the bird for a close-up picture,” Paul Spindler related. “The bird suddenly jumped up and backed away with its typical broken-wing act and cries. The photographer was kneeling about 2 feet away from the nest containing 4 eggs, when the Killdeer charged at her face to face. It then settled on its nest as it was photographed.” (GOS, June 1991)Another nesting killdeer was “having quite a time” on 17 May 1989 trying to incubate her eggs at Genesee Country Museum in Mumford. Unfortunately, she had chosen to nest in a formal garden behind one of the restored, showcase houses there. It was a spot with plenty of human “foot traffic,” and the bird was “reacting defensively every time somebody came by. “We approached fairly close, and she went about 15 to 20 feet away, maybe more, and then imitated injury in the way killdeers are famous for. She tilted to one side, rusty tail spread, wings held partly outstretched in a bend, and gave a rapid, tittering distress call. “When we backed away, she returned to the nest, a mere hollow in the dirt in a sunny spot, with three eggs in it, and first positioned herself so she shaded the eggs, but remained standing, bobbing her head from time to time. Assured the danger was past, she finally sat on the eggs. “We urged a woman staff member at the museum, who happened by, that someone rope off that part of the garden, so the killdeer would not constantly spend time trying to lure tourists away at the expense of her soon-to-be hatched chicks.” (Marcotte diary entry)
Background
Kill-deer! Kill-deer! is the piercing cry of this “most widespread and familiar of North American plovers,” which readily adapts to nesting near humans. It lays its eggs in a bare scrape in gravel parking lots, pathways, driveways and even rooftops, at airports and golf courses, and also along stream edges and heavily grazed meadows. Once in serious decline because of market hunting, it has since expanded its range and is “probably more common today than at any time in its history as a result of habitat changes wrought by humans,” breeding across most of Canada, all the lower 48 states, and into Mexico, the Caribbean and even in Peru and Chile. These birds are well-known for their broken-wing act and piteous cries to lure predators away from nests and chicks. (BNA 517: 1, 3, 5)“If you live in the vicinity of any area where the killdeers commonly spend their time, you will become convinced that they are chronic sufferers from insomnia,” Edson noted, “as it seems as if there is no time, either night or day, that you do not hear their cries.” (WBR, 1 April 1940)
Local history
Like many other shorebird species, Killdeer declined severely during the 1800s because of overhunting. However, it was “well known throughout the country which drains into the Great Lakes,” Eaton (1910) wrote. He considered it a common summer resident in Monroe and Livingston counties, and fairly common in Wayne. (Eaton I: 350, county charts)R. E. Horsey, in his listing of birds seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913 to 1936, indicated average counts of two to four birds, with a maximum count of 50, on dates ranging from 5 March to 27 November. With protection from the Migratory Bird Treaty of 1918, and bans on hunting, its population began to rebound. In fact, Eaton by 1930 said the “most spectacular improvement (in the shorebirds) is that of the Killdeer which shows several hundred percent increase in the interior of New York and is extending its range.” (KB 3:54) When Leo Tanghe examined the returns from 1,665 outings by Genesee Ornithological Society members within a 50-miles radius of Rochester from 1951-1954, Killdeer was, by far, the most frequently reported shorebird, with 968 sightings (next was Spotted Sandpiper, reported 402 times). Best average counts were 20 to 30 in August and September; there was one January record. (KB 5: 69: 2A-2B)
Status
Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a regular, common summer resident and an irregular, uncommon winter visitant.Livingston County, Fox (1998) considered this an irregular rare winter visitant, and a regular common spring and fall transient and summer resident.
Occurrence
Spring: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 26 February (1951, 1957, 1972) to 1 April, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 7 to 18 March. However, one on 13 February 1984 (L. and N. Moon) at Braddock Bay was listed as an earlier “first record for the spring migration.” (GOS, April 1984) Subsequently, one on 11 February 1998 (Symonds) at Hamlin Beach was an earlier “first” of spring. (GOS, April 1998)Separating early arriving birds from wintering ones can be difficult, however. Even earlier February dates include one on 5 February 1994 (Cerasalotti) along the west lakeshore (KB 44:123; GOS, April 1994) and one on 10 February 1977 (Clarridge et al) at Fairport. (GNR) Spring maxima: 35 on 22 February 1975 (M. Carlson, mob) along the west lakeshore. (GOS, April 1975) 204 on 22 March 2007 (D. Tetlow) Braddock Bay. (LG, May 2007) 75 on 25 March 1963 (Listman et al) Braddock Bay. (GOS, May 1963) 284 on 25 March 1987 (Nicoletti) at Braddock Bay. (GOS, May 1987)
Summer/breeding status: Both BBA projects found evidence of breeding in almost every block assigned to our region, the only difference being a decrease in blocks in which breeding was actually confirmed.

Large flocks begin to form late summer into fall in plowed fields and on mudflats.  Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of departure dates from 8 October to 12 December, with a mid range, or “normal departure time” of 4 to 20 November.
Summer/fall maxima:      100 on 17 July 1960 (Listman) at Groveland. (KB 10:101)     250 on 21 August 1973 (R. and S. O’Hara) along the west lakeshore. (GNR)     240 on 27 August 1975 (S. Taylor) along the west lakeshore. (LG, September 1975)     300 on 15 September 1970 (Foster) at Lima. (GNR)     225 on 22 September 1984 (Griffith) in Hamlin. (GOS, November 1984)     288 on 12 October 2005 (D. Tetlow) in Hamlin. (LG December 2005)     180+ on 27 October 1988 (Reinhardt) south end Irondequoit Bay. (GOS, December 1988)     140 on 1 November 1981 (Davids) Hamlin Beach SP. (GOS, January 1982)     106 on 4 November 1987 (C. Cass) south end Irondequoit Bay. (GOS, January 1988)     100 on 12 November 1967 (Doherty) at Curtis Road. (GNR)
Winter: Horsey listed a single winter record: two birds on 8 January 1932. Edson could find only four January sightings from 1932-1961. (WBR, 6 February 1961) One Fairport resident, having trouble with his sump pump, ran a hose into his back yard, “making a mud flat which a killdeer discovered on Jan. 31 and has made its home…ever since,” Edson reported in 1960. (WBR, 7 March 1960)More recently, it was considered noteworthy when this species was not reported in January. (KB 45:113) However that’s exactly what happened back to back during the winters of 1994-95 and 1995-96. (KB 46:148)
Winter maxima:       16 on 20 December 1998 (S., C. and R. Spahn) Braddock Bay. (GOS, February 1999)       4 on 18 February 1973 (J. and A. Foster) Lima. (GOS, April 1973)    Misc.
One nest along the Lake Ontario Parkway, not far from Manitou Road, was within 20 feet of a Horned Lark nest. Both were rolled over by a motorized mower in June 1957 “but by some miracle neither the three horned lark nestlings nor the three Killdeer eggs were injured in the least,” John Brown reported. (BA, 13 June 1957)

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse