After Weeks Of Guarding Nest, Utility Workers Welcome Baby Chicks To South Carolina Parking Lot

Utility workers at Berkeley Electric Cooperative in Johns Island, South Carolina, are celebrating the arrival of three tiny new colleagues. 

The energy company became the unlikely guardians of a family of killdeer after an eagle-eyed employee noticed a nest in the gravel parking lot last month. Staff made headlines for placing a perimeter of orange traffic cones around the shorebirds’ shallow nest to keep it safe until the eggs hatched. 

Thanks to their protection, that’s exactly what happened last week.

“The chicks have arrived!” Berkeley Electric Cooperative announced on Facebook. “Three out of the four eggs have hatched on Johns Island. We will continue to keep the area cordoned off and monitor the site as killdeer chicks can take up to a month before they leave the nest.” 

A short video compilation (below) shared by the energy company provides a glimpse into the killdeer family’s life in the parking lot. 

“You will notice in the video that one of the parents begins to act wounded to lead predators (in this case our photographer) away from the nest and protect the chicks,” the company notes. 

According to the American Bird Conservancy, the killdeer is the most widespread North American plover species. Its breeding season occurs from mid-March to August, laying clutches of four to six eggs in shallow depressions, or scrapes, in the ground. Parents typically incubate the eggs for 22 to 28 days. 

Federal law prohibits the removal of protected migratory bird species without prior authorization by the Department of Interior U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, meaning Berkeley Electric Cooperative couldn’t have moved the nest even if they wanted to. 

And they never wanted to.

“It’s just another way we’re helping to keep the Lowcountry beautiful,” they said of their efforts to keep the birds safe and sound.

Good luck to this cute little family!