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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Azzy" data-source="post: 1893448" data-attributes="member: 83206">Driving back from the creek I decided to drive by the park at the bottom of our street thinking that if the masked lapwings were there, I might take some photos. Straight away I saw one of them, sitting in the sun all fluffed up, I assumed warming itself. It looked like a pretty good photo op. So I stopped the car and walking along the road verge next to the park, intending to circle around behind it. But before I even got remotely close, the second one took to the air, circling and calling in warning. I thought this behaviour completely unnecessary as I've walked by them plenty of times before without such problems. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite7" alt=":p" title="Stick out tongue    :p" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":p" /> Still, I kept walking hoping to circle around behind the second one, though I hardly got much further before it suddenly hopped up and ran quickly in a direction that would cut across my path. Needless to say, I was confused.It was only as the first bird that had taken to the air circled close to the ground that I noticed movement on the ground, a tiny lapwing chick! I quickly ducked behind the nearest (and practically only tree) hoping to stop the panic and ease the parents minds a little. The first one stopped circling but kept bobbing it's head up and down in threating posture while calling (pic 1). I then noticed that there wasn't just one chick, but 3! I could hardly believe my eyes. The second parent returned to where it had first been resting and the 3 little chicks tottered over to it and snuggled up underneath her feathers, well concealed. Which is the strange posture I had first noticed when driving by. I'm no good at aging chicks, but they could hardly be more than a week old. In a small suburban park, next to a playground, with dogs and cats abundant, somehow these lapwings had made a home.Driving home from work today, I had a moment of panic when I noticed the grass had been cut in the park and the lapwing wasn't in it's spot. However they had just moved about 100m further up, with one parent still obviously sitting on chicks (hopefully still 3). I'm going to keep on eye on them, but I'm not going to get so close as before, they don't need the stress.</blockquote>

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