From plover buzz to killdeer action: Lockport pair saves nest, construction waits
From Chicago comes the story of a married couple who held up home construction to save a bird’s nest — and of the construction company that agreed to pause work.
Brought to light by the Chicago Tribune’s Audrey Pachuta, Ray and Shelly Romolt of Lockport were excited to see the empty lot near their home sold for a new house. But their enthusiasm changed when they realized someone else had already moved in: two adult killdeer nesting in the weeds.
Inspired by recent media coverage of endangered Great Lakes piping plovers at Lake Michigan’s Montrose Beach, the Romolts had started paying closer attention to local birdlife. While walking the vacant lot, they found a nest with four speckled killdeer eggs. Knowing construction would likely destroy it, they asked the builder to wait.
“We want you to stop, just for a month or so,” Shelly Romolt said her husband told an employee at the development’s model home. “And then, please, build away.” When a crew arrived with a bulldozer, Ray explained that killdeer are protected federally under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Builder D.R. Horton’s corporate office advised him to check with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Shelly called and got confirmation: without a special permit, the crew could face penalties.
“Within a day of their exchange with conservation police, the site supervisor came to the lot and placed caution tape and cones around the nesting site, assuring them the company would postpone their scheduled ‘dig date’ until the birds had hatched,” reported Pachuta.
The Romolts said they were impressed by D.R. Horton’s responsiveness and expect the company to keep its word.
The timing matters. The International Union for Conservation of Nature downlisted the killdeer from “Least Concern” to “Near-Threatened” in 2024, citing projections that its population could drop 20% over the next three generations — losses driven partly by habitat destruction like the kind the Romolts sought to avoid.
