A Mama Killdeer’s Love, A Boy, His Sister, and Tech

By Kate Kheel from Safe Tech International

The killdeer bird is a fascinating species. They lay their eggs in nests made of a few twigs or random pieces of straw loosely scattered on the ground. This spring I had the good fortune of being graced by a mama and papa killdeer who set up camp in the middle of my rather long driveway. Mama sat faithfully on the eggs through rain and shine, wind and cold, while Papa circled overhead or nearby to keep mama and the eggs safe.

Although not great homemakers, judging by their makeshift nest in the middle of a driveway, killdeer are fierce defenders of their young. If a predator approaches, the killdeer responds with what’s known as the “broken wing display”, letting one wing droop as they hobble about feigning injury to lure the predator away from the nest.

Wanting to protect my new feathery friends, I put up a roadblock made of shovels and other odds and ends; and a few feet away, on either side of the driveway, I placed two large signs: One read BIRD’S NEST and had an arrow pointing toward the nest, and the other DROP BOX beneath which was a bucket for deliveries.

Every day I came by and checked on the birds. Most often, I found mama killdeer faithfully atop her eggs, and papa nearby making sure all was well.

A few days ago, a 12-year-old boy and his 9-year-old sister surprised me with a visit. They proudly presented me with a bracelet they had made. It even had my name on it. I was genuinely touched by the gesture.

After thanking them, they stayed on awhile and we chatted. Noticing the boy had an ear bud in his ear, I explained to him earbuds are quite harmful both from the radiofrequency that goes straight into the brain, as well as from all the germs they carry when passed around among children. He admitted the kids in his class do share them “all the time”. “Eww!” gasped his grossed-out sister taking a step away from her brother. The boy respectfully removed his ear bud.

As we talked on, he confessed that since he had gotten a cell phone he really didn’t enjoy doing much besides playing on his phone. When I hear this from children, I feel genuinely saddened. I apologized deeply on behalf of my generation for having robbed them of a childhood of exploration and discovery.

The boy told me his grandfather only lets him use the cellphone an hour and a half a day, and so he does sometimes go outside to play with frogs or snakes. He then added, “As a matter of fact, on the way over here just now I saw some bird eggs in your driveway and moved them.”

My face must have turned white…