It’s always been difficult for Hooded Plovers to raise their tiny families; they’ve always had to deal with king tides, weather extremes and predation from gulls, ravens and snakes but now they have the added dangers of foxes, cats, vehicles and dogs.
Hooded Plover (Thinornis rubricollis) – parent with chicks
Canon 5DIII, 100-400mm L IS USM, 1/800, f5.6, ISO 400, focal length 390mm
Late last month I got a call from volunteer-hoodie-protector Sue to say that the first chicks had hatched. As soon as I could I was driving towards their beach. I arrived just when the sun was getting low and Sue and I spent the next few hours watching and waiting. The images are not as sharp as I prefer to share but I’m always mindful that the birds’ well-being is far more important than any photograph. I kept my distance, and the heavy cropping, along with the heat haze played havoc with the image quality – but this post is about more than image quality.
Did you notice how many legs the adult bird has in the image above?
Hooded Plover (Thinornis rubricollis) – 3 day old chicks
Canon 5DIII, 100-400mm L IS USM, 1/800, f5.6, ISO 400, focal length 390mm
These chicks are 3 or 4 days old, it’s hard to know exactly when they hatched. They remind me of cotton wool balls with matchstick legs; they are adorable. They are remarkable little hatchlings that foraged for themselves from day one, darting around looking for insects and sandhoppers amongst the seaweed and rock pools while their watchful parents scanned the beach for signs of danger.
Hooded Plover (Thinornis rubricollis) – 4 day old chick
Canon 5DIII, 100-400mm L IS USM, 1/2000, f5.6, ISO 400, focal length 400mm
The image above was taken the following morning. One of my favourite things (apart from ‘brown paper packages tied up with strings’ and ‘wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings’) is to be at the beach before sunrise. There is something magical about watching the first rays of sunlight creep across the sea and the sand delivering sparkles of warmth.
I had hoped to revisit these chicks and make a record of their little lives. I had hoped to see them get bigger and stronger as their feathers grew and they practised flying in ever-increasing circles across the water. I had hoped that they’d be banded and I’d hear of their adventures but sadly my hurried trip to their tiny patch of coastline was the only time I saw them. Two chicks didn’t survive a storm that raged around them when they were 6 days old and the third was lost at two-and-a-half weeks when another storm battered the beach.
This post comes with a plea for bird-lovers to encourage beach-goers to be mindful of our beach-nesting birds when holidaying by the ocean this summer. These little birds don’t ask for much and we can help by not walking our dogs near them, by staying close to the water’s edge, by carefully following the instructions on signage boards and by being willing to change our habits just a little.
Last year a pair of hoodies successfully raised a family, for better quality images and a happier ending you might enjoy The hoodies have flown!
Happy birding and thank you for caring, Kim
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