Birding

Masked Lapwings breeding

January 1, 2012 by Clare M 7 Comments

We have recently come across several Masked Lapwing Vanellus miles families around Broome. They generally lay four eggs, but we have only seen a maximum of three surviving chicks after a few days.  A good indication that they have eggs or young is the extreme noise that they make. They will often fly at both people and other animals in defense of their eggs and young. These birds are often present in Broome on the green areas, like the school sport’s fields, golf course and the local parks. They are often in large groups in these areas when they are not breeding. 

One family we came across recently had two chicks and one minute we had nice views from the vehicle…..

Masked Lapwing chick

We then could not see it, but had not seen it run off…very odd….very clever….

We discovered it had got into a cow footprint and was cleverly disguised!

Masked Lapwing chick hiding in a cow footprint!

The next pair of Masked Lapwings we came across indicated that they had eggs or chicks from the amount of noise that they made!

Masked Lapwing adults

We soon discovered that they had two chicks that were happily feeding in the shallow water and really had no interest in us or any of the commotion that their parents were making!

Masked Lapwing chicks

These little birds will soon grow up and discover they have a voice too! Don’t camp near these birds unless you want waking up early!

For those of you wondering if we got our Wet Season rain yet….NO!! Looks like it’s coming to us in 2012 now!!

Written by Clare M
Clare and her husband, Grant, have lived permanently in Broome, Western Australia since 1999 after living in various outback locations around Western Australia and Darwin. She has lived in the Middle East and the United States and traveled extensively in Europe. She monitors Pied Oystercatchers breeding along a 23km stretch of Broome's coastline by bicycle and on foot. She chooses not to participate in social media, but rather wander off into the bush for peace and tranquility. Thankfully she can write posts in advance and get away from technology!