Masked Lapwing, Plovers already have chicks.
Across the road 3 chicks have hatched and one egg remains.
This means that the parents mated 5-6 weeks ago. well before the Winter Solstice.
This I find unusual. Plovers I thought started breeding shortly after the ratio of daylight / night was increasing. 6 weeks ago it was the opposite.
I had some fun as I invaded the Plovers' territory. The birds went ballistic.
Displaying the spiked wings and screeching at me. They can be very intimidating to a real predator.
I was quick and took a couple of fast photos. To keep the disturbance to a minimum.
Look how well the chicks can hide in short grass. The neighbour is careful not to mow over the nest.
I find on the ride-on mower the birds allow me to come within 3 M but on foot 20M (when not near a nest)
