06/17/2026
The original Hot Spring
Killdeer are ground-nesting shorebirds that will lay 3 to 4 eggs directly on the ground in divots in gravel or dirt often lined with rocks, shells sticks, and sometimes human trash to act as cammoflauge. After 24 to 28 days Killdeer chicks will hatch and can stand, run, and feed themselves as soon as their feathers dry. The young are raised in open, short-grass areas like lawns, golf courses, parking lots, and even off shoots of Yellowstone National Park gysers like the one shown here.