Steve Brown, assistant supervisor of Building Repairs, spotted four fuzzy killdeer chicks scurrying around on wobbly legs recently in a hazardous habitat—a rooftop. Killdeer are medium-sized plovers that are known for nesting in unusual and potentially dangerous locations such as parking lots, rooftops, lawns, athletic fields and golf courses.
The Office of Plant Management was aware of the nest and had been keeping a close eye out for the babies. When the hatchlings were found, Dennis Lepore, Health/Safety Compliance coordinator and fire official, knew just whom to contact to get the chicks to safer ground. John Rokita, principal lab technician and a resident bird expert, was called to lead the rescue.
Killdeer hatchlings can’t fly, so they were confined to the rooftop, which doesn’t offer a large enough food supply to sustain the hungry babies, explained Rokita. The chicks look like cotton balls on twigs and need plenty of insects to grow stronger, he added.
Rokita has conducted killdeer rooftop rescues on Stockton’s campus in the past, so each spring, he knows he’s on call.
Brown, Rokita, Lepore and Russell Konrady, a crew supervisor in the Carpenters Shop, carefully corralled the feathery puffballs into a cardboard box. The protective parents made lots of noise and faked broken wings, a defense mechanism they use to distract predators from their young.
The chicks were safely released and reunited with their parents. “The rescue operation went smoothly, and we had fun,” said Lepore.
</div>