Killdeer in my Pepper Patch

I have had a returning killdeer since we moved here 3 1/2 years ago - and each year she tends to build her nest in the middle of the grass - which is not like the normal killdeer - they lay their eggs in gravel...

However this year she decided to do something different. She must have remembered Buster chasing her away each and every time last year - so this year she laid her eggs in the mulch around one of my almond trees.. Buster did finally find her nest and that was pretty much the end of the story.... until I spotted her hanging around my garden....

When I put hte garden in a bit ago she had already taken up residence - she somehow indented last year's newspaper weedblock and she moved in some wood chips for decoration and laid 4 more eggs...


She has been becoming more and more tolerant of us in the yard and she doesn't seem to mind th sprinkler in the garden although the first time or two it really freaked her out. Yesterday she was actually walking with the water drops looking like she was taking in a bath. It was really adorable and I regret not getting it on film....

But here are pics of her and her nest. Her babies should be out soon. It seems like forever since she laid them!