New Residents at Crystal Spring Farm

Out at the Market green, a killdeer had made a nest near the parking lot. On a Saturday morning last month, mama Killdeer had marched her babies out into the parking lot to parade around. After several attempts to corral the family into the nearby fields, we closed part of the parking lot to ensure the safety of the birds. Later in the morning, the killdeer family could be found wandering down the trail at Crystal Spring Farm.

In the Tom Settlemire Community Garden, after abandoning a first nest site, a killdeer couple had built a new nest in a different corner of the Garden. After roping the area off and alerting Gardeners, we were able to create a safe environment for the killdeer to nest comfortably and for her eggs to eventually hatch. The family now have two thriving babies and have moved on from the Garden.

We are so grateful to our community at both the Market and the Garden for respecting the killdeer nesting sites, being flexible and understanding as we closed spaces off, and keeping their dogs on leash on the nearby trails to ensure the killdeer were able to successfully nest and raise their young. Check out this field guide from Audubon to learn more about Killdeer and thank you for helping us share space with wildlife!