Breeding time

• Nighthawk eggs

Photo by John M. Steiner/Forum Communications Co. Eggs like these common nighthawk eggs found this week near Killdeer are easy to find this time of year. Many bird species breed during June and July.

Talk about it

Spring is generally known as the season of rebirth, but summer plays a large role in rebuilding bird populations.

Many bird species use this time of year to lay their eggs, including pheasant, sharp-tailed grouse and Hungarian partridge in southwestern North Dakota.

“This is the time of year,” said Jean Legge of Valley City-based Dakota Birding. “It’s a big deal.”

North Dakota Game and Fish Department upland game biologist Aaron Robinson said sage grouse are currently breeding in the extreme southwest portion of the state.

It’s not uncommon to see eggs just lying on the ground as some species lay their eggs there on purpose, while other eggs may have fallen out of their nests.

“Most of the birds are hatching right now,” Robinson said. “Some will still be in nests.”

While it can be tempting to pick an egg up, the general advice is to leave them alone.

“Just leave then where they lay,” Robinson said. “Don’t break them. Don’t do anything.”

Legge said even if an egg is left alone for several days, the hen will come back.

Robinson said in the case of an egg falling out of its nest, some species can carry an egg back up into it.

“That’s why it’s best to leave them alone,” Robinson said.

Many times, eggs will be found under a tree after being knocked out of the nest.

“If that’s the case, usually that egg is going to be dead anyway,” Robinson said.

Legge said prairie birds lay one egg a day and don’t incubate them until they are done laying all of their eggs. A duck, she said, could lay 10 eggs.

“Over a 10-day period, an egg may look to be abandoned on the ground,” Legge said. “They just haven’t started incubating them yet.”

The mother will start to sit on her eggs and keep them warm until they are ready to hatch. Generally, most of a hen’s eggs will hatch around the same time.

“They will all hatch out within a few hours of each other,” Legge said.

Besides coming upon eggs, the public can stumble upon a chick that looks to be abandoned. Both Legge and Robinson said that usually isn’t the case.

“Just because you don’t see the parent around doesn’t mean it’s abandoned,” Legge said. “The parent might be somewhere close by and you just don’t see them.”

Tags: outdoors, wildlife, grouse