Breeding Birds of North Dakota

Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus (Linnaeus))

Breeding Range.(Fig. 63) . Fairly common throughout the state.

Breeding Habitat. Generally found in the vicinity of wetlands on bare exposed ground and on ground with sparse or short vegetative cover. Habitats of these types include bare, cultivated fields, stubble fields, heavily grazed prairie or domestic pastures, areas of exposed gravel or sand, road shoulders, and bare shorelines of ponds and lakes.

Nesting. Breeding season: Mid-April to late July; peak, early May to mid-July. Extreme egg dates (25 nests): April 18 [1973] in LaMoure County (M. L. Avery) to June 21 [1966] in Dickey County (M. L. Plenert). Extreme dates of dependent young (33 broods): May 19 [1973] in LaMoure County (M. L. Avery) to July 25 [1968] in Nelson County (H. A. Kantrud).

Information concerning 13 nests indicates they were distributed by habitat as follows: three nests on garden plots, two on bare cultivated fields, two on heavily grazed native prairie, two on exposed sand or gravel, two on bare shorelines of lakes, one on a stubble field, and one on an abandoned, trash-littered farm yard.

Indicated clutch size (17 nests): each nest with 4 eggs.

Figure 63. Breeding Range of Killdeer.