For most of the year I can live quite peacefully with Masked Lapwings – or plovers as we used to call them. Even when they start nesting it is possible to walk right by as long as you don't get too close. However, when the chicks hatch the problems start. Wherever they want to walk – they walk! The parent birds simply clear the way for them and beware any human who gets anywhere near. Even carrying an open umbrella in the middle of a sunny day – and looking quite stupid of course! - is not enough to keep the birds from swooping uncomfortably close. So I end up finding somewhere else to walk – and the birds win!
This year they have been nesting since early July and I saw young birds walking around back then. Right now there are chicks and parents on both sides of me. My yard is totally fenced so the birds come quite close on the other side of the fence. The other day I heard them coming closer and closer so went out with my camera and a step stool which would let me see above the fence to take photos. The parents screamed and swooped as soon as they saw me and I got one glimpse of a chick – then nothing moved! I had seen two chicks from a distance the previous day so decided to wait.
It took about 10 minutes. I stayed still and eventually the screaming and yelling died down to agitated squawks. Finally there was a shrill piping sound from in front of me and the first chick came out of the grass and ran towards the parent bird. Then I heard another little piping sound from about 15 metres to the right and another chick appeared. Finally a third one from about the same distance to the left. I took my photos and left. The next day I heard them from about the same area so obviously they hadn't been too worried to have me around.
Thank you for risking life and limb (and the cost of an umbrella) to bring us these shots :-)
ReplyDeleteI particularly like the second last one. It's all legs. Imagine if they stayed in those proportions :-)
Thanks Mosura, but I didn't even need the umbrella. I stayed below the top of the fence until the birds saw I wasn't coming any further. They are smart birds!
ReplyDeleteHi Mick
ReplyDeleteGreat shots, of lovely birds.
I really like them, but then again, I do not share my space with them.
Gorgeous chicks. Its amazing how well they can hide, when Mum tells to them to stay put.
Denis
Thanks Denis, I was amazed too at how those chicks disappeared. I saw where one went initially but then there was no sign of it at all. It must have flattened itself among the grass because it has little grass seeds all over its back in the photo.
ReplyDeleteWe had a pair going crook at us for an hour today Mick, didn't come close though. Beaut pictures.
ReplyDeleteThanks Duncan. Its the first time I've been close enough to get photos of young ones.
ReplyDeleteGood stuff, Mick! I reckon, though, you can call their bluff. Unlike, say, magpies, lapwings are more threat than strike. At least they've never drawn my blood. But they are scary!
ReplyDeleteYour adult bird illustrates big difference in races. It's the old Spurwinged (Vanellus novaehollandiae) plover with black back of neck and beside breast, rarely seen up here among all the whiter Maskeds (V. miles).
Hi Tony, you have a different Latin name for them. I am using Slater's field guide and it gives the one name but then splits it into eastern (the ones on my post) and northern - the white ones you mention.
ReplyDeleteThese are really strange looking birds Mick. The chicks are more appealing however, but they look like bodies on sticks, their legs are so long!
ReplyDeleteYour patience rewarded :)
Thanks for your comment Tricia.
ReplyDeleteLapwings!
ReplyDeleteGreat shots and I would love to know where you spot these beautiful beings!
Please
Hi Roentarre, I have always seen Masked Lapwings in rural or semi-rural environments and in fairly open grasslands.
ReplyDeleteNice post Mick.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Denis and Tony, and quite like them despite their aggressiveness when they have young nearby. There's a pair on the golf course who seem to know that when I approach on the motorbike, I'm only going to turn a valve or shift a hose and that I'm not much of a threat. Smart birds, as you said.
Gouldiae
Thanks Gouldiae, I know they're smart. Just wish they were smart enough to leave me alone!
ReplyDeleteThey're fearless and persistent when they get going. Interestingly, nobody's been swooped on campus so far. Plenty of them around but they all seem to be quite relxed.
ReplyDeleteThe pair behind my house that I photographed are still very aggressive but I saw yesterday that they still have three chicks - pretty good I reckon.
ReplyDelete