The newest addition to the school lives right near the outdoor track, squawking when students walk by to protect her nest of four eggs.
“It is a killdeer,” said bird photographer Karen Jimenez. “They’re like a kind of plover, so it’s kind of a beach bird.”
Jimenez’s passion for birds started around a year ago, and she currently works at a wild bird store where they sell anything bird related, like bird feed and feeders. After investing in a Canon camera, Jimenez has been taking pictures of different birds, most of which are featured on her Instagram account @flockstar_photography.
“It takes twenty to thirty days for them to lay their eggs,” Jimenez said. “It will definitely be cool to just see when they hatch, because they’re really cute when they’re babies.”
“I do know there are two,” Jinenez said. “And both the male and female will do something really cool where they pretend they have a broken wing in order to lead people away from the nest. The broken wing display is really cool because it’s not something you see typically in birds.”
Jimenez says it’s migration season now, meaning birds can be seen now that are not present at other times of the year. “You’ll see different kinds of warblers and wood thrushes here. It’s just cool to keep an eye and an ear open because you never know what might be around, and it might be a bird you never expected to see,” she said.
“There’s also a map called the Merlin ID, and you can record and it will tell you what bird song you’re hearing,” Jimenez said. Also, if you take a picture you can put it on the app and it will tell you what bird it is.”
According to athletic director Kathleen Cassidy, the bird first showed up the day after County played Broad Run, on April 21st.
“Last I checked there were four eggs,” Cassidy said. “Several people have asked about moving the nest, and, that’s like the number one rule with birds, you don’t move a bird nest.”
“It’s more of a nuisance to our visiting (baseball) teams,” Cassidy said. “She hasn’t hurt anybody yet.”
“Now it’s our, I guess, third mascot, ” Cassidy said. “We have not named her yet.”
The name Sandy was suggested by Stephen McNamara.
“I’ve only seen the other one one time, and I think it’s the male,” Cassidy said. “He doesn’t come as close to her nest. I’ve seen him in the outfield, just sitting there.”
“Luckily everyone has pretty much left it alone,” Cassidy said.
“Until she has those babies, she’s going to be there.”
