Plovers are birds of very little brain

While they are certainly to be commended for their bravery, it cannot be denied that Spur-winged Plovers are not blessed with the biggest of brains. In fact, sometimes I find it amazing that any of them succeed at breeding at all and that the species has not died out!

Do you remember I said it looked like the plovers were aiming to nest on the small rock island in the middle of the river in front of our house? Well, yes, they have gone ahead with this ludicrous idea...never mind that the rains are due any day now and the island will be soon under water, or that the crocodiles and marabou storks and gymnogenes and you-name-it will make easy pickings of the chicks, who will have nowhere to hide - if indeed the eggs last long enough to hatch. And with the soaring temperatures, each day exceeding 45˚C and some days even over 50˚C, it will be a miracle if the eggs are not cooked on the roasting rocks:

 

We waded out to the island to take a look for ourselves, and lo and behold, there is the nest, hidden in a deep depression in the rocks, with three very well-camouflaged eggs in it:

Further along the rock was a fourth egg, laid on its own - probably the first attempt at a nest, which failed. That egg has got to be hard-boiled by now: 

    Even though the Egyptian Geese pose no threat to the plovers or to their eggs, the plovers display their usual noisy defiance, and try to keep the geese away from the nest:

Long-time readers of this diary will remember the multiple episodes of failed plovers' nests. Sadly, what I fear we are witnessing here is yet another inevitable plover disaster story, for they really have stacked the odds against themselves this time...

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Comments

[breadanhitt]

Great post on the life's of "Plovers" bird...It is you who put light on the way how these birds lay their eggs on the rock surrounded by a pond or a lake....Yeah they are little bit careless in laying their eggs openly....But its the law of nature we can't interfere in it...

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