Killdeer are wading plovers, common in water areas throughout North America and also around open areas with water like sandbars, mudflats, and grazed fields. They are shy and known to run away quickly, eventually flying away, they will also do this to distract predators from their nesting sights, calling loudly before running away. Killdeer feed on various bugs like beetles, grasshoppers, larvae, spiders, snails, and crayfish. They stir up insect prey by running on the ground in spurts, while stopping just as fast to check their progress. Here are two by a little duck pond.