A Killdeer foraging for ephydrid flies in the warm thermal pools on what became a windy afternoon. The warm thermal pools allow the flies to thrive even in winter and provide birds like this Killdeer a tasty early winter meal on a blustery afternoon.
nature has no boss 
I like those necklace markings.
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Yes, those are distinctive marking.
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Lovely bird – those feathers almost look like a mini set of wings!
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Hi Eliza, The wind was blowing both sides evenly and with vigor.
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Oh that’s fascinating, I did not know that about thermal pools, flies, and birds in the winter, Mike. I love killdeer, and you’ve done a super job with capturing this individual.
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HI Jet, yes we almost always see one or more Killdeer foraging in the thermal pools of Yellowstone from late fall to late spring. There are also Chickadees and Townsend’s Solitaire that frequent the pools. A wonderful little ecosystem.
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We used to have a killdeer make its nest in our lane every year for a couple of years when we first moved in here! We had to mark it so no one would drive over it… its racket was worse than that of a wren!
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Hi and that made me laugh a bit. We have almost run over Killdeer nests as well along a couple of dirt roads. One was so close to the road when we pulled over to look we could see the eggs in the nest.
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So THAT’s a killdeer! I’ve heard of them but never saw one before. Snazzy guy!
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Yes that is a killdeer and they are indeed snazzy especially with that red-eye ring and jailbird suit of feathers..
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Nice capture with his foot up and wind ruffled feathers!
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Thanks Ellen.
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Reblogged this on Wolf's Birding and Bonsai Blog.
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Hi and thanks again for passing along the post.
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Love these birds- excellent photograph, Mike. Interesting about the thermal pools. My favorite thing about them is when they feign injury to lure predators from their young.
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Hi Jane and yes it is fun to watch their show when luring a predator away form the nest photographers included. Hope your having a good week so far.
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Hi Mike. Great picture as usual…interesting name Killdeer…I expected something with huge teeth and extreme bloodlust…any idea who named it?
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Hi Graham, yes Killdeer got their name from their namesake discover Sir Richard Killdeer an early 18th century English naturalist. Have you heard of him?
But really I found this on the Cornell University website:
Killdeer get their name from the shrill, wailing kill-deer call they give so often. Eighteenth-century naturalists also noticed how noisy Killdeer are, giving them names such as the Chattering Plover and the Noisy Plover.
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