It would be interesting to hear how many others can join the
Perchalskis in finding killdeers nesting on roofs. This behavior was
described three-quarters of a century ago, but seems seldom reported in
Ohio. Maybe the Atlas work will reveal more about it. Killdeers are in
decline, but adaptability may be slowing their losses.
        A number of species that nest on cliffs, or on gravel bars or
burned-over land, etc. can adapt to roof nesting. Opportunists like
gulls do so as well. In Florida, where humans have co-opted so many of
their breeding areas, least, gull-billed, and roseate terns, black
skimmers, American oystercatchers, and even once in a while Wilson's
plovers have taken to roofs.  Some estimate the majority of the
population of least terns in the Carolinas were born on roofs. An
article recently appeared in the Florida Ornithological Society journal
that pronounced tar-and-gravel roofs an endangered nesting habitat for
least terns.
        Along the east coast, enormous numbers of nesting birds, forced off
traditional nest sites, have made use of artificial reefs and
dredge-spoil islands. These by-products of human activities are better
than nothing for the more adaptable species, and we need to look at this
use here in Ohio again, at least for water-loving birds. What the
nighthawks (and to a lesser extent killdeers) are going to do when the
gravel roofs are gone is a good question.
Bill Whan
Columbus

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