Momma bird

There were a couple of birds in our backyard that didn't leave, even when the dogs chased them off. Sure, they would leave for a few seconds, but they would fly right back into our yard after the dogs lost interest.


I looked them up and the birds are killdeer. Apparently they live in fields and dirt-covered areas, which perfectly describes parts of our yard. When I walked outside, the bird acted like it had a broken wing, so I thought that maybe our cat had injured it...but that didn't explain why it kept coming back into the yard.


So I looked a little closer, and this silly bird has decided to build her nest in our yard! Apparently it's normal for killdeer to build their nests right on the ground, but man, did this bird pick a bad yard! We have clumsy kids and a cat!


There are 2 eggs on the ground as of right now, but the internet tells me that they usually lay 4 eggs over the course of a week. The momma and daddy birds will take turns sitting on the nest for 28 days and then the babies will hatch. Here's the part that really worries me: the babies hang out in the "nest" until they can fly, which is about a month later! I'm afraid they won't survive for very long with a bloodthirsty cat on the prowl. In the past month alone, I've found a few dead animals in the backyard-- a mouse, a bluebird and a baby rabbit. I don't want these baby birds to be next, but I don't know what to do. Everything I've looked up about the birds says that the momma bird won't find the eggs if I move them, even if she watches me move them.