{"id":59295,"date":"2019-07-22T15:08:37","date_gmt":"2019-07-22T19:08:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=59295"},"modified":"2019-07-22T15:08:37","modified_gmt":"2019-07-22T19:08:37","slug":"killdeer-nesting-in-brock-community-garden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2019\/07\/killdeer-nesting-in-brock-community-garden\/","title":{"rendered":"Killdeer nesting in Brock Community Garden"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a way, Brad Sutherland has taken the latest resident of Brock\u2019s Community Garden under his wing.<\/span><\/p>\n

A killdeer \u2014 a brown, white and black bird \u2014 has taken up residence in his plot, along with a nest filled with cream and black-speckled eggs.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sutherland, Facilities Assistant for Residences, is growing tomatoes, red cabbage and peppers in the garden where the bird has settled since early June.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Residences Facilities Assistant Bradley Sutherland\u2019s community garden plot at Brock University is home to a killdeer and her nest.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI noticed her after I planted everything,\u201d he said. \u201cI came back two days later to water and she had set up nest. I just let her be for a few weeks, so I wasn\u2019t disturbing her too much.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Sutherland contacted <\/span>John Dick, Grounds Services Manager for Facilities Management, to tell him about the nest and to find out if it would be OK to proceed with his plans to erect a protective fence around the garden.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was hesitant to put up a fence because I was worried she wouldn\u2019t be able to fly in or out, but John said it shouldn\u2019t be a problem,\u201d said Sutherland. \u201cI think the fence has actually helped her relax. She used to immediately start squawking and running around as soon as I approached the garden. Now, she seems less apprehensive of me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

When a predator is close, killdeer will lift one wing in the air, pretending it is broken, and walk away from the nest to lead the predator in a different direction. As the predator approaches, the bird will walk further away and perform the charade again.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sutherland said every time he checks on his garden, the mother bird is there.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s there all the time,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s only been one time I\u2019ve come to water the garden where she hasn\u2019t been there, but she showed up 15 seconds after I did and started getting very angry with me.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite the bird\u2019s presence, Sutherland is trying his best to maintain his garden. He\u2019s usually able to quickly water but has refrained from pulling weeds in an effort to leave the nest undisturbed.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m certainly not watering it as much as I probably should be,\u201d he said. \u201cA lot of the other gardens are bigger and nicer than mine, and I may not get a\u00adny vegetables out of it, but I\u2019m fine with it.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dick expects the killdeer to be away from the nest and out of the garden within the next couple of weeks.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe gestation\/incubation period is about 28 days,\u201d said Dick. \u201cI assume we are about halfway through that or more.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Until then, the protective fencing will remain in place, the weeds will continue to grow and Facilities Management will allow space when mowing the grass surrounding the garden plots.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Those interested in learning more about the Brock Community Garden can contact Dick at <\/span>jdick@brocku.ca<\/span><\/a> or x4435.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a way, Brad Sutherland has taken the latest resident of Brock\u2019s Community Garden under his wing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":59294,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7,1,4],"tags":[8098,5471,703,53,4481],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59295"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59295"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59295\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":59296,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59295\/revisions\/59296"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}