Day 157: A short local walk yesterday brought me to the cobbled shingle of the Nisqually River where a spurt of motion among the rocks caught my eye as it wandered in search of natural-history tidbits. But where exactly had it occurred? For a minute or more, I scanned the scene for any sign of life until at long last, one of the "rocks" scurried amid the others, followed by a second "rock" a few yards behind it. They were too far away for a naked-eye identification although I was fairly certain what they were. My educated guess was confirmed neatly when I zoomed in with the camera: Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus), and presumably a mated pair by their behaviour. I watched them for some time, hoping theyd' come closer, but typical of the species, they seemed intent on drawing my attention away from a presumed nesting location. I kept my distance, not wishing to disturb them, listening with great enjoyment to the plaintive call which is the root of their common name: "Kil-deeeer! Kil-deeeer!" Its whistled tones rose above the gabbling of the Nisqually, fading as the birds moved downstream and out of my sight.
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