Friday, July 18, 2008

Earlier this week I promised to post some pics of Piping Plover chicks. This little guy seemed as interested in me as I was in him but a few peeps from Mom and he headed back to her.

This shot of a chick with one of its parents shows the size difference between the two. Piping Plovers are not that big to begin with.

These guys are very difficult to photograph. When they’re moving, they’re moving fast. And when they stop, they melt right into the background. Those fuzzy edges just disappear and you can’t tell the bird from the sand.

June 12 was the first day I saw one of the plover chicks over at Sunken Meadow Park. I only saw the one chick that day but I’ve seen others since, but never in any great numbers. I don’t think I’ve seen more than five chicks in any one visit to Sunken Meadow. Of course, my view of the nesting area is from the water inside the inlet, so I don’t see all there is to see. You can walk around the perimeter of the nesting area but I prefer to disturb the birds as little as possible.

Now, anytime you have chicks on the beach, you’re going to find some cool cats checking them out. These two felines were at the base of the bluffs at Kings Park dreaming of ways to get across the water to Sunken Meadow. At low tide you or I can walk right across but I don’t think it’s a trick a cat wants to try. JK