[obol] Ridgefield NWR Tuesday: Interesting Behaviors

[Bill Clemons]

Tuesday April 24, 2007 my mother and I birded
Ridgefield NWR (~4mi W of I-5 at Exit 14 in SW
Washington; http://www.fws.gov/ridgefieldrefuges/ ).

It seemed fairly quiet though we saw or heard a good
number of species on the day.

Spring is definitely here as far as certain birds are
concerned:
YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS are now easy to see on their
territory on S Quigley Lake.
HOUSE WRENS are seen and heard in the Oregon Ash
woodland.

Our best bird views of the day were of behavior I have
never seen before:

KILLDEER Nest Change:  
E of the R/R tracks we saw a nest with 3 eggs in it
and while we were parked nearby (~20 feet) so I could
get my mom to see the nest in binoculars, the second
Killdeer came along and die a nest exchange.  It was
really cool!  Killdeer A stood up straddling the eggs,
then moved, But Only to the edge of the nest scrape. 
Killdeer B then approached from the rear of Killdeer A
and scooted under its rear end actually brushing its
head on the underside of Killdeer A before A finally
decided it was OK to move away.  It seems as though
(at least these) Killdeer do a "tag team" exchange. 
This sight is a first for me.
  
PIED-BILLED GREBE Courtship Display: