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| The ringleader... |
More from the moors this spring, this time involving both breeding plover species - most notably a badly-behaved sibling trio of Lapwing chicks who, despite their parents' best efforts, continued messing about dangerously in the middle of the road.... I usually try and avoid intervening but, with three errant fluffballs running riot, a rescue mission was required, and they were safely deposited together away from the road and with both adults instantly back on shepherding duties.
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| ... and his two cohorts |
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| An older youngster doing a lousy job of hiding |
Golden Plovers are thinly scattered up on the higher moors, and their parenting skills differ from Lapwings in that they rely more on distraction - both parents 'leading' any potential predator away from the chicks with their frankly grating high-pitched whine (which gets more annoying and higher-pitced the closer you get to their chicks), as opposed to the more direct, agressive mobbing of Lapwings (who will even happily divebomb a car if it looks a bit sketchy to them).
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| Golden Plovers |
