Australia's BEST Bird Parents - Plovers | Bird Tales

[@benjidoggo5405]

I have fond memories of being in primary school and every recess and lunch seeing kids cowering and screaming because of the swooping plovers. I was really scared of them back then. These days I walk through the field and see them swooping down on me, I don't run or scream, or duck and cower. I just walk past their nest without any troubles. Really if you are big enough I don't think they'll actually hit you. I've never been hit myself. Anyways, great video!

[@gdsmithimages]

haha yes, they’re all noise. Thanks for watching!

[@RoyceMarcus]

would love to see more bird videos like this!

[@gdsmithimages]

There’s more in the works, they just take ages to shoot! Thanks for watching

[@sammartin6973]

Another great video! Those plover chicks are adorable! ☺

[@bravelyHomoSapien]

My actual favourite bird sound. Waking up to them when camping on the Murray is a memory brought back to me every time I hear the call ❤

[@gdsmithimages]

@@bravelyHomoSapien yes! Like the magpie their call just sounds “Australian”.

[@davidyates8880]

Great photography. I really enjoyed this. Thank you.

[@gdsmithimages]

@@davidyates8880 thanks for watching

[@trep17mag]

Awesome, beautiful,funny, special.......they have loads of personality and you can easily make friends with them by offering water and worms.

[@gdsmithimages]

Thanks for watching 🙂 spoiling them like that and they’ll never leave! haha

[@clairedelor9690]

Love the video! We have a nest on our front loan with 4 adorable fluffy chicks and two very controlling parents 😂 We've been reading a lot about masked lapwing now that we're forced to be flatmates! I'll show this video to my kids, they will love it!

[@gdsmithimages]

Nice! Would be awesome to be able to watch them all grow up. Just don't get too close! 😆

[@rickyn4710]

@clairedelor9690 did they survive?

[@bob-cat]

Barbed wings! Looks like the guy with the bandaged leg took some damage.

[@gdsmithimages]

that's what happens when you get too close! 😆

[@louanneneill7732]

Watching this as I now I have a family living in my yard!

[@combatwombat7746]

That’s cool! I think around a few days ago now, so the 25 or 26th October I was going for a little e scooter ride. I was in Denham court going down rover street when I heard this dreaded sound. I didn’t even see it at first but it was nesting on the grassy part of the sidewalk! It had three baby lapwings and one egg! I came two days later and all that remained was the remnants of the distinct green shell and the abandoned nest! These birds are quite fascinating! Can’t wait to see em around next year in breeding season!

[@the-Backyard-Naturalist]

Gorgeous footage!

[@gdsmithimages]

Thank you!

[@castorellistudios]

Great Footage! What beautiful birds!

[@gdsmithimages]

Thank you, they're the best birds! 😀

[@AndrewMark-hl9hh]

I have them living in my yard I love them.

[@VHSandDVDLoverEstAVGCP]

When plovers catch you going near the nest during their swooping season you know you’re fucked

[@gdsmithimages]

It’s true. Its the stuff of nightmares

[@rickyn4710]

Love them, my favorite bird. I try to help them look after their babies every year (spotlighting foxes etc) but 75% (6 out of 8) so far have been killed by foxes, myna birds and ravens.

[@gdsmithimages]

@@rickyn4710 that awesome, love the dedication! The babies in this video didn’t survive, most were taken by house cats..

[@rickyn4710]

​@@gdsmithimagesyeah I saw in another comment you said they didn't survive. Very sad. Many plovers never breed successfully, so imagine if they didn't try to defend their young so vigorously, they would be extinct. Luckily Iive next to a nature reserve so cats are not allowed here. Still, the native ravens and the imported pests like Indian mynas and foxes are enough to kill most of them. Just to stop the foxes some times I'm up 2-3 times every night spotlighting them, which is anywhere from 11pm to 5am. Not great for work but such is my love for these amazing parents.

[@rickyn4710]

​@@gdsmithimagesthat is so sad. 😢 Many plovers never breed successfully so imagine if they weren't so protective, they would go extinct. Luckily I live next to a nature reserve so cats aren't allowed. But there are enough risks anyways. I'm often up 2-3 times a night in breeding season to spotlight foxes, which isn't ideal for work but such is my admiration for these amazing parents. There are another pair of plovers down the road and unfortunately a fox got one of the parents while the other was incubating eggs. Thank God somehow that single parent had another single plover come and help it! They are still incubating now but they don't have much chance as they live right next to where the foxes eat all their prey.

[@gdsmithimages]

@@rickyn4710 is there any way to set traps? (Humanly of course). Plovers will always find a way to survive though. They’re an extremely hardy bird. I’ve seen a pair nest on a roundabout next to a freeway off ramp! I hope your plovers make it through the breeding season 🙂

[@rickyn4710]

​@@gdsmithimagesunfortunately not. I've asked the local government and they said they don't actively trap foxes and I can't unless I have a commercial license. The plovers at the front of my house have already had their kids taken this spring. The single parent up the road (deep in fox territory) and it's helper are the only hope for the ones around here now.

[@torim1265]

My local plover laid an egg in the middle of the yard so I moved it as my husband was mowing. I’m worried the plovers won’t know where the egg is. I held it up and made noise but I don’t think they took any notice 😢

[@gdsmithimages]

oh no 😞I'm sure they'd track it down and set up camp there.. they do lose a lot of eggs and babies. The ones I filmed for this video lost all of these chicks, unfortunately. I did see them a few weeks later sitting on a batch of fresh eggs though! Very difficult life being a ground dwelling bird

[@Brokeboitoy]

They stalked the shit outta me before

[@gdsmithimages]

@@Brokeboitoy they have a knack for doing that

[@BreadPloverKeke]

helo ther kekekeke

[@VishkarSentry]

I Approve

[@cheryl1766]

best or ....bit silly sometimes as to where they take up residence...also i have seen where the can take out 50cent piece size clumps of hair ..twice..both kids lost pgment to that area of hair when it finally grew back...dont mess with them when nesting. ..they even play dead or injured to distract you away from from their eggs..so thats smart i guess

[@gdsmithimages]

I remember having to run the gauntlet when crossing a park while walking to school every day. Never got got, but their calls still put me on edge haha

[@Dustin-o6h]

Plumbers plumbers are worse than Magpies have fun with the plumbers

[@leviv9486]

The babies are good at hideing

[@gdsmithimages]

They really are

[@RonLucock]

Very parental, yes, but when they walk up & down your street from 1:00am - 5:00am every single f*cking night making that screeching sound calling to their mate kilometres away, it literally drives you mad. My wife got out of bed at 5:00am one morning to shoo them off our front lawn, slipped on the sloped, wet driveway in light rain, fell & broke her shoulder. Had to be taken to hospital in an Ambulance with a morphine stick in her mouth while the bird just kept on walking & squawking. I hate these birds with all my being.

[@AussieDJRemixes]

yep, they are a nuisance, I got two in my yard with two babies and I can't even go into my own backyard. They didn't pay three hundred and eighty thousand dollars to live there. They never shut up.

[@RonLucock]

@@AussieDJRemixes Sorry for you dude. They probably even affect your property value. If your house was for sale & I came for an inspection & saw plovers in the yard, all you would see is the back of my heels.

[@AussieDJRemixes]

@ronlucock3702 ... I have to carry a broom with me when I go in the backyard because they swoop down at me. Apparently they are a protected bird now, probably because of Greenie and do gooders that have never had the experience of having them nesting in their yards. God gave man dominion over the animals, not the other way around.

[@RonLucock]

@@AussieDJRemixes Absolutely mate. I rang council, National Parks & Wildlife, they told me to call the Dept of Urban Planning & Development. They were actually sympathetic & ironically said urban planning & development ( street lights, cut lawns), was partly to blame. They couldn't help me though. Because my wife's injury occurred on the nature strip, I even threatened to sue council. They didn't care. I told them my wife had more rights than a frickin bird!!

[@ShadyRipple]

honestly hate these bastards. Always swooping me when i try to walk home

[@trep17mag]

MASKED LAPWING, not plover. Get the facts correct before you post false information.

[@gdsmithimages]

I literally call it the MASKED LAPWING 18 seconds into the video. The average person calls it a plover. geez Thanks for watching and leaving a comment.

[@trep17mag]

@@gdsmithimages Average person calls it a plover? Not in Victoria. They are Masked Lapwings there and there are more Masked Lapwings in Victoria than any other part of Australia, the same as Magpies and Mudlarks so our titles are correct!

[@bmmilk6852]

@@trep17mag Does it really matter?

[@trep17mag]

@@bmmilk6852 .......Well if your not a genuine bird lover I guess not. But very disappointing that we are in Australia, one nation but no-one ison the same page. I have a book titled "Native birds of Australia", in it it states the primary name is "Masked Lapwing". 'Spur winged plover' is also mentioned however in another Australian book on native birds it says "Masked lapwings' are not real plovers so I'm guided by that. Personally I refer to them as "Stick legs" due to their long skinny legs. Anyway, they are awesome feathered friends. Enjoy your weekend!

[@bmmilk6852]

@@trep17mag Okay