Killdeer Counts This Year

I'm concerned about the killdeer populations this year.  I just checked out Cornell's population counts.  They're low.  Here's the link to the data.  Notice that in 2007 (orange) the killdeer population was around 200 in March.  This year (green) it was barely 50.  Oddly enough, this month's populations are the same as they were last year.  I want to keep an eye on the trends.

I think one of the biggest issues is overmowing in the fields around Vancouver.  I've noticed a lot of unnecessary mowing and haying in perfect fields for killdeer nesting.  I'm sure that development and human footprint activity aren't helping.

Last year I could easily identify at least 20 killdeer around my place on any given day.  Now I'm lucky to see 2 in one week.  That same killdeer at WSUV seems to keep showing up, too.  I haven't seen any big gatherings of them there, just that one.

Please keep an eye out for killdeer populations.  If you see them somewhere, make a note of it (preferably here!).  I consider killdeer to be an important indicator species of field habitat around here...which is disappearing.