hatched.

we left early this morning for a day in tulsa, and at our departure, we made sure to slow to a crawl long enough to say farewell to the eggs resting in our driveway. when we returned home we again slowed in order to check on the status of the four killdeer eggs. to our surprise, four tiny birds were resting where the spotted eggs had resided only hours earlier. we made a detour into the yard in order to steer clear of the babies and their protective mother. i went into the house with the intention of getting my camera in order to document this exciting event. when i returned to the gravel nest i was surprised to find it empty. in the few minutes it had taken me to get my camera, the mama bird had moved the babies to a new (and hopefully safer) location. i was quite crushed (like the eggs would have been if i hadn't protected them) -- these birds i had watched so closely and been so protective of had just... well, flown the coop.