KITTLITZ'S PLOVER ENCOUNTER

A rare opportunity to observe a Kittlitz's Plover on her nest presented itself on the 5th December 2013. With floodwaters still very much present after good rains earlier in the year, a Kittlitz's Plover was spotted on her nest close to the waters edge.

To have a close encounter with any bird like this is an experience of a lifetime. It started off with finding the nest close to the water's edge and being able to slowly but surely win the confidence of the female. Like with anything special, you need patience and if you have enough you will be amply rewarded.

At first she was quite skittish but eventually she accepted my presence. Patience was key! After a couple of days I was able to sit between her nest and the water's edge. As I approached she would cover the eggs with debris from the flood waters and run to the water's edge and stretch her legs, feed on small insects until I was settled and that was about 5 metres from the nest.

She would then walk past me to attend to her nest. At the nest she would sit on the debris with her feet underneath her and slowly remove the debris from the eggs, turning a full circle until the eggs under her body were clear of debris. This happened everyday and everyday I was able to move slightly closer and ended up about two meters away.

As I walked past the nest on my final day before the December break, she moved her body to show me the eggs as if to say "here have a look"

Nature remains amazing!