I am so used to the squawking and shrieking of the Masked Lapwings (plovers) who like to feed in my driveway that I don’t pay too much attention to the noise most of the time. At this time of year, I do check on them occasionally because I know they usually produce their chicks in late winter. It seems to be a family tradition that when the babies are old enough they are brought to my garden to be shown their territory. I wasn’t able to photograph last years chicks but I did see them a couple of times.
Yesterday, in the late afternoon, I was sitting in the lounge and I thought that they were making a lot more noise than usual. It occurred to me that it might mean they had new chicks so I went to have a look out of the kitchen window. There were Mr & Mrs Plover both standing in the middle of the drive looking at me and squawking their heads off. I looked around and sure enough, there was a chick fossicking around in the grass nearby. They usually have more than one and after observing them for a short time I believe there are two. It was a chilly afternoon and mum went to sit on the grass where I think she was sheltering one under her wings. Later on, the other one crept in as well.
I had time to get my camera and put the 100-300 mm zoom lens on to take some pictures. They are not great because of being taken through the glass but if I had opened the window they would have been off as fast as the babies could be made to walk.
I think that these chicks are younger than the ones I photographed last time, they are quite small. It was quite funny to see mum and dad so close to the house and looking towards the window. Were they warning me off or announcing the new arrivals so that I would see them I wonder?
Our Other Blog: Two Sisters and Two Points of View 
I still like the photos even if they’re shot through the window. I didn’t know this type of bird, never seen them anywhere posted. The beak is funny, looks like they’re wearing a mask 🙂
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They are funny looking birds but they are good parents.
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You make them sound like they came from Star Trek the next generation. 😊 The chicks are cute. I always look out fo the cygnets at the lake. The baby swans and ducklings are so cute.
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They are just darling, Vanda. A few years ago, I made a mosaic of a lapwing chick under the legs of its mother.
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The first time I saw chicks a couple of years ago was a horrible wet, cold day and there was mum with about four chicks nestled under her protecting them from the weather. Do you have a photo of your mosaic?
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I will check, Vanda.
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Vanda, here is a link to my post with the mosaic of the plover chick (among other bird mosaics). 🙂 https://reflectionsofanuntidymind.blog/2018/01/16/birds-of-tile-and-feather/
Cheers. Tracy.
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They are all really nice. The plover chick does have that look they have. I like the blue wren, one of my favourite birds. I saw Mr and Mrs Plover out with the family the other day and spotted 4 chicks this time.
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Four is a lot of chicks!
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I’ve seen plovers with four other years. I wonder if I’m seeing the grandchildren of the first pair I saw in my yard three or four years ago. A friend of mine says it’s as well they have several chicks because they have no road sense.
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I know. I once tried to rescue a couple of babies who were crossing a busy road but were too small to jump up to the lip of the gutter. That did not end well.
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The parents are terrible at choosing nesting sites but so protective of their babies.
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