Her-bert! Her-bert! Bert! Bert! Bert!

"Her-bert! Her-bert!" I'm sure that's what the mama piping plover (Charadrius melodus) was peeping across the sand at Breezy Point on Jamaica Bay in Queens on June 14. I'm finally getting around to posting my photos and the Filming the Feathers video for these delightful little birds. I spent a very hot and sunny day filming the little Herberts and their parents as they rushed back and forth on the beach.

An adult piping plover with a little Herbert, Breezy Point, Queens, June 14

The Filming the Feathers video is a bit choppy, but I was basically filming blind on the beach with my Sony camera (my Canon was looking for some love in the repair shop that day).

The distraction behavior of the adult piping plover was fascinating to watch. These birds will feign broken wings and injury to draw the attention of a potential predator away from the chicks. You will see some of that behavior in the video.

This first set of photos shows the little Herberts on the beach.

These are the adult piping plovers I had the joy to watch in June.

Killdeer, the Shorebird Jailbirds

Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) aren't wearing striped prison uniforms because they murdered Bambi. They got their name from their excited call of kill-deer! But they do have those horizontal stripes, which make them very recognizable. These shorebirds are often seen away from the beach, in fields, lawns, golf courses and open areas. The first killdeer I saw and photographed, on Feb. 24 of this year, was playing second base on a ballfield in the North Lawn of Central Park. On May 20 and May 27 I got good looks at the killdeer on Governors Island, where they nest. Killdeer are plovers, with their large, round heads, large eyes and short bills.

Killdeer, Governors Island, May 27, 2017

I highly, highly recommend a video on YouTube by Cathy Weiner (quoteny) showing killdeer mating. It is absolutely beautiful and fascinating.

In my Filming the Feathers video, you can hear a killdeer calling, but it isn't the kill-deer! call they are known for. It is an insistent "Peep! Peep!" I put a couple of these calls at the beginning, before the Bach Brandenburg Concerto kicks in, in a version arranged for recorders and performed by Papalin.

Killdeer, Central Park North Lawn, Feb. 24, 2017

Killdeer, Governors Island, May 20, 2017

The first photo in this group was taken on May 20; the rest were taken May 27, both days on Governors Island.