Those pesky plovers are at it again! These masked lapwings are laying up to four eggs, and hatching cute little chicks. The calls have begun to come to our WILVOS 5441 6200 Hotline.
By the time school returns, the plovers have installed themselves on sports fields and refuse to vacate. Unfortunately these large mown areas of grass are the preferred habitat to lay their eggs on the ground. The cleared area gives good vision of any predators in the area. Some can successfully be moved to a nearby cleared area, with parents objecting as they follow. Often they need to be brought into care and incubated.
But why do plovers nest on roundabouts? It just seems to be against all Workplace, Health & Safety rules. In actual fact, predation by domestic pets, foxes and snakes is minimized. The majority of these birds seem to know the safest time to get across the busy roads once the chicks have hatched. Because of ground predators, plovers will also nest on rooftops.
You may notice if walking past plovers that sometimes one may fly away, often only a few metres at a time, while appearing injured. This is a brilliant trick to lead predators away from a nest of eggs or from their chicks. Their ‘bombing’ tactics are well known. They do have a small spur near the end of the wing, and they are often called spur-winged plovers. I haven’t encountered anyone who has had direct contact with this “spur’’. In actual fact if they did connect with anything, it would mean that their wing would be severely injured. I think they are smart enough to know that.
The newly hatched chicks are fast learners. They huddle together with parents for warmth and protection but are soon picking up their own food, and catching their own insects. They are beautiful little chicks and fascinating to watch grow to independence.
Donna Brennan Wildlife Volunteers Assoc Inc (WILVOS) PO Box 4805 Sunshine Coast Mail Centre Q 4560 PH 5441 6200 www.wilvos.org.au