NJ town stops using soccer fields to protect this tiny bird

TEANECK — A small, federally protected bird has thrown off a Bergen County town's soccer schedule.

The killdeer, which is protected under the American Migratory Bird Treaty, was found nesting on the artificial turf on near the south goal of a Teaneck youth soccer field at Votee Park, township officials told NorthJersey.com.

Ken Hoffman of the Teaneck Parks & Recreation told ABC 7 Eyewitness News it would take 30 to 60 days for the state Department of Environmental Protection and federal government to investigate and issue a permit, so the decision was made to just leave the bird and its mate alone.

Public Works employees taped off 30 feet around the nest and games have been moved to other fields, according to the reports.

According to the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology, Killdeer are attracted to athletic fields, golf courses and parking lots. They are described as being similar to shorebirds and get their name from the "far reaching, excited" call they make that sounds like "kill-deer."

The female killdeer will often act as if it is injured in order to keep predators away. The male will act as a lookout and charge anything that comes near the nest and could step on the bird's eggs.

It will take a month for the birds to hatch and then another month for them to leave the nest.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ

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