Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)

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Abundance: Common at all seasons; recorded in all Regional counties (Map of UCR Distribution); data from the Regional bird-monitoring efforts indicate that the Regional breeding population is probably stable (see also Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).

Status: Permanent Resident; some individuals may be Winter Resident only, representing birds that breed to the north but migrate south and winter in the Region; similarly, some individuals may be Summer Resident only, representing  birds that breed in the Region but winter to the south; photograph (Stephen J. Stedman; Floating Mill Recreation Area, Center Hill Lake, DeKalb County, Tennessee; 20 February 2002).

Regional High Count: 1150 (29 November 2010; Barren County, Kentucky; David L. Roemer; Palmer-Ball and McNeeley 2011a); CBC/CBB High Count: 572 (27 December 2007; DeKalb County, Tennessee [CBC]; m. ob.); FBC/FBB High Count: 336 (18 September 2010; White County, Tennessee [FBC]; m. ob.); SBC/SBB High Count: 102 (9 May 2009; Putnam County, Tennessee [SBC]; m. ob.).

Breeding: Confirmed (Recent); nest a scrape on bare ground with some pebble component; the Killdeer is double-brooded in the Region.

Habitat: A wide variety of open to semi-open habitats, some natural but many homogenically altered.

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: Registered on 18 (of 125) monthly check-lists during 2003 and on 58 (of 206) check-lists during 2004, leading to a YardWatch frequency classification of Uncommon in each year; this YardWatch frequency classification is inconsistent with the overall Regional abundance classification, indicating lesser frequency of this shorebird in Regional yards and neighborhoods than in the Region as a whole.

Foray Results: A summary of data from UCR Forays follows (to view a map displaying foray data for a county or a sub-Region for this species, click on the name of an underlined county or state below):

* Because some foray blocks fall into two or three counties, the total of blocks in the Kentucky or Tennessee portions of the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the counties of each portion of the Region; similarly, because some blocks fall into both states, the total of blocks for the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the two states.

Remarks: The distraction display of this upland shorebird is quite a compelling spectacle, as the adult bird considerably contorts itself, revealing its rufous rump, in an effort to draw potential predators away from eggs or young by appearing to be weak or injured; a bird exhibiting such behavior is illustrated in this photo (Carol D. Williams; western Putnam County, Tennessee; 8 June 2011).

    The Regional High Count (1150) was obtained mostly from a count of Killdeers foraging on the exposed mudflats of Walnut Creek, Barren River Reservoir, when that body of water was at winter pool level.  This site has hosted a large flock of this gregarious shorebird during many winters of the 2000s.

Check-lists of Birds for the Counties of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of each county of the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed by clicking on the links below. For each county, there are two check-lists: one list that shows the species that have been observed and where possible documented in the county within the larger list for the entire Region; and one list that includes only the species observed in the county with annotations for the date and observers for at least one sighting (the ultimate goal of the latter list will be to include annotations for the very first known Regional observation of each species in that county; this goal is probably one that will take many years to complete, if completion is even a possibility). To see if the species discussed in this species account has been observed in a county, click below or click on the link for the Map of UCR Distribution near the top of the page.

Check-lists of Birds for Some Public Access Birding Sites of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of some public access birding sites within the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed via the links below. To see if the species dealt with in this species account has been observed within any of these sites, click on the appropriate link below. See the pages for each county within the Gazetteer for links to additional smaller public access birding sites with check-lists in progress.

Literature Cited