Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 18, 1993 TAG: 9307160078
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: PATRICIA HELD
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
While the kildeer is considered a shorebird, it seems to be just as happy in a pasture as it is along a beach. These birds are our constant summer companions in pastures and plowed and open fields.
The kildeer is the most common and one of the larger birds of the plover family. It ranges from 9 to 11 inches and has a white neck ring with two black bands across its white breast. This color scheme is an example of what scientists call "disruptive coloration." This is when its markings allow the bird to blend with its surroundings. The bird also has a reddish rump and upper tail feathers, but these are only visible when the bird displays them or is in flight.
Its rather conspicuous and loud calls command attention. An insistent KILL-DEE or KILL-DEEAH and sometimes a plaintive DEE-EE warns everyone that this bird means business. When a kildeer nest is approached or if one gets too close to a young kildeer, an adult will intercept the intruder with insistent cries. The adult then feigns injury, hobbling along with a wing dragging as if it is badly wounded. This behavior often succeeds in luring the predator away from the nest and young. The bird then suddenly recovers and flies off.
The kildeer should be considered a welcome bird in our fields. Ninety-eight percent of its diet is made up of insects. The rest of its diet consists of earthworms, crayfish and weed seeds. Watch this bird feed as it alternates between running and standing, busily searching for food.
The kildeer does not build nests. Instead it lays its four eggs in a depression or simple scrape in a field. The eggs are pointed and heavily marked with brown spots and splotches. They blend in with their surroundings and become almost invisible on the ground. The pair takes turns incubating the eggs. Once they hatch the young leave the nest as soon as they are dry. Within 25 days they are flying
Kildeers breed throughout the United States and winter from New Jersey and Ohio and throughout the South.
Note to readers:
There is a plant in bloom now that, while beautiful to look at, is a menace to our state. According to a Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries report, if the purple loosestrife is left unchecked it threatens to dominate wetlands and wet meadows to the exclusion of all desirable native plants.
Purple loosestrife is a perennial characterized by long showy spikes of magenta flowers. Usually under 4 feet tall, in nutrient-rich habitats the plant may reach up to 10 feet. The petalled blossoms form in dense clusters on terminal spikes. While it is sometimes confused with the native and rare winged loosestrife, the latter is generally smaller, averaging about 2 feet in height, has a different leaf arrangement and has fewer, more widely spaced flowers.
Purple loosestrife has been compared to the gypsy moth. Considered Northern problems, lately both are threatening our state. Under the right conditions this plant can spread dramatically in a very short time. Once it dominates an area it displaces native orchids, and desirable waterfowl foods are lost, thereby forcing native birds and mammals to move to other areas in search of food.
Unlike the gypsy moth, we can stop a major invasion of purple loosestrife. Avoid planting it in your garden. And if it is already in your garden, consider moving the plant.
For many years we all considered this plant a welcome addition to our garden, but now we know better. Do not encourage the growth of purple loosestrife.
Patricia Held will respond to readers' questions on the plant and animal wildlife in the region. Mail inquiries to: Patricia Held, P.O. Box 65, Goode, Va. 24556.
Patricia Held is a Bedford County free-lance writer and author specializing in natural history.
by CNB