Date: 1/30/26 9:05 am From: B Westree via groups.io <blwestree...> Subject: [pen-bird] Scientific inquiry
The following message isn’t specifically about peninsula birds but I hope it’s of general interest.
A week ago I was birding at Jepson Prairie Preserve. It was cold, about 45 degrees, windy like it always is there, and sunny. Alongside the entrance road there’s a set of rusty, abandoned RR tracks. Sitting on the tracks and bedding rocks were dozens of killdeer. Just sitting or strolling around. Not feeding, like there was a feast of bugs btwn the stones, or displaying. Just sitting.
I imagine that they may have been warming themselves on the substrate that was probably warmer than the soil or the damp grass. And so it would seem this would be a common behavior. But apart from seeing TVs warming themselves on cold mornings, I’ve never seen other birds do it. Certainly not songbirds or shorebirds. Anyone have thoughts or observations about it?
