Richardson Square mall
Photo 1:
Nesting in the Middle of a Parking Lot
I found a killdeer nesting right in the middle of the parking lot of a big Lowe's. There were little squares of dirt with sparse grass and small trees throughout the cement parking lot. I saw this killdeer first. With cars going by 2 feet away. The bird jumped up and ran to a different square making that trilling sound. There was not a nest under it but I started looking at each square of dirt.
Photo 2:
Only Three Eggs
Two squares of dirt over I found the nest, about a foot away from the road. There were only 3 eggs in it, which explains why the mom was not sitting on the eggs yet. Killdeer start brooding after they lay that 4th egg. This makes sure all 4 babies hatch at the same time. This is important because they all leave the nest within an hour of so of hatching once the babies feathers are dry, and don't come back.
Photo 3:
View From a Nest
When standing in front of the nest and looking up, this was my view. Talk about your urban wildlife.