CAMDEN, S.C. — A federally-protected bird caused quite a stir at the Carolina Cup over the weekend.
"A citizen was walking the grounds and happened to see a momma bird dragging her wing, making all this noise, which is what a Killdeer bird does when you approach the nest," said Camden Police Lieutenant Penny Lloyd. "She noticed it and then saw the eggs so she called right over there to us and brought us over."
Lloyd says the killdeer bird laid her eggs in the middle of the infield before the horses started racing, leaving her team to quickly wrap the area around her nest with caution tape.
"We were told right away this a protected bird and you can't move that nest," Lloyd said.
The bird didn't stop people from having fun as Carolina Cup Director Toby Edwards said they had to relocate some tailgaters.
"The patrons whose spaces, those were allocated to arrived, we talked to them and they very graciously were quite happy to relocate to another area so the mama bird could sit on her nest," said Edwards.
Edwards said they have seen killdeer out on their fields before but never this early and never on race day.
As clean-up continues on the steeplechase grounds, Edwards says they will continue keeping a close eye on her and her eggs, and they can't wait for the chicks to hatch.