Great Lakes region, USA. July 2026.
I took my camera, my kayak, and an N95 mask and hit the river. The wildfire smoke was quite intense. Luckily the wildlife seemed to be coping. These killdeer were one of the highlights of the trip. I was surprised at how close they let me get.
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Beautiful. I love killdeer, we always had them around our house growing up.
Their song reminds me of summer.
This smoke is terrible.
They’re a lovely bird. I hate to say they can be annoying, but that also makes them unique. I’ve had great luck finding them this year. Their call carries quite a distance so you know when they’re around.
Amazing pictures.
Anyone know why they’re called killdeer?They’re one of a whole bunch of birds where the name is meant to be imitative of their cry, I believe.
I might lack imagination, because I can rarely hear it, but in the killdeer’s case, listen to the second half of the 2001 recording on this page for an idea.
Edit: the -8s and -1s marks of the 1955 recording might be better, actually.
Their name comes from their call. Not all of their calls sound like “kill deer”, but this one is a good example.
They are hilarious to be around when they have young ones near. They will pretend to be injured and try and lure you in the opposite direction all the time.
