The Bird That Named Itself

  Most of the time, people give names to things.  This applies to critters, as well.   Birds' names may obviously be due to color...such as bluebirds...or may be attached to some person who "discovered the bird"...such as the Wilson's snipe that recently visited the Bayou.  Rarely, however, does a critter get to name itself.  One did.  The killdeer screamed its name loudly and long enough until folks realized that it was telling us its name.  When the bird takes off in flight, most folks claim that the bird's call sounds as if it is saying "killdeer".  Since the bird had no malice toward Bambi (or any other deer), it was quite clear that it just wanted us to call it by the correct moniker.

  The winter tides have been inviting to all sorts of shorebirds.  They come to forage the mudflats in hopes of a quick meal.  Tiny crustaceans and minnows are often trapped in the miniature tide pools (tide puddles?) that fill low places in the mud.  Sometimes, these low places are nothing more than a footprint of a bird previously in the area.  This morning, several killdeer were busy working the shoreline.  They ran up and down the mudflat, all the while, bobbing their heads like a working sewing machine.  All was quiet except for their insistence in telling me their names.

  Watching the winter visitors to the Bayou would not be complete without seeing the killdeer.  Although they are here year round, it seems that they are more easily seen during the winter months.  Since the birds prefer wide open spaces, the mudflats give me the opportunity to have them come for a visit.  This also gives me the opportunity to ponder things like their names.  The Bayou critters do keep me thinking!