I can’t get enough of these cute little plovers….
They blend in so well and they move so fast–even with my zoom lens they are hard to pick up–this one is just off center to the right.
This one is smack in the center, doing a little dance….
just beneath the string…
so cute….
Keep your eyes out for these little guys on the beaches this weekend….they are out and about!
One of the simple joys of early morning beach walking is watching the little piping plovers learn to feed and run from danger. The adult plovers will often try to lead a predator in the opposite direction from where the babies are and even the babies will split up and run.
Piping plovers are very well camouflaged and in the next few pictures you might want to click on them to enlarge them to find the babies. I have a zoom on my camera but it isn’t a big one and you sort of have to keep your distance from these little guys so you don’t spook them.
Look carefully here to see the mom heading right and two little chicks heading left–these are very little ones. So cute!
This chick is a little bigger and belongs to a different family. Probably hatched a few days sooner than the others.
There are 2 chicks in the picture above–and this gives you a really good idea about how well camouflaged they are and how difficult to see if you are a driver on the beach….
The good news is that a good number of chicks have already hatched on area beaches so far and as long as the weather remains somewhat reasonable they should grow well and be ready to fledge in good time so that all can share the beaches without too much complaint.
Photos by me this morning from Kalmus Beach in Hyannis
Yesterday I found these piping plover chicks, newly hatched, on Kalmus Beach in Hyannis!
They are born able to stand and run very quickly after hatching and then they forage with their parents.
When the parent senses trouble it peeps to get your attention and the little ones scatter in different directions to stay safe while the parent or parents lead you away from the babies…
I saw three separate families–one with 4 chicks, one with 3 and even one with 5!
I think they are the cutest things ever, don’t you?