The beach is filled with wonderful monuments of nature. After a recent flooding in suburban areas, many big pieces of driftwood washed up on the beach. This makes for such wonderful sightings, and I would guess awesome playgrounds for birds! Many little bugs and critters will make these new dwellings their home, inviting birds to snack on them.
The white-fronted sandplover (Charadrius marginatus) is no different. I had a wonderful time running after this little friend, trying to capture it in action. But this little friend outsmarted and outran me! I did not stand a chance...
No wind bothered us. We were alone. Just me and the plover (and his friend). But with each step that I took, it ran a couple of meters away. It did not matter how candid I tried to be, I could not get any closer than I already was.
From behind, I could sneak up on it, but almost like having a sixth sense, it sensed me! It flew away, creating more and more distance between us. It was just before sunset, so I managed to get some nice photographs of him or her. But it did not like me coming any closer. I stretched the capabilities of my 300mm zoom lens.
When my girlfriend saw me edit the photographs, she said that the two photographs below looked like the plover played a game of hide and seek with me. Below, the little plover said, "You cannot see me!" Hiding from me behind the tall grasses, it could not see the camera, so I could also not see it!
"Here I am!" it exclaimed as it jumped from behind the grasses. With a smirk on its face, having the ability of flight and the sixth sense, it easily outran me trying to take photographs of it.
Here are some of the running in action. The running plover, we might call them. Even though some of them might not be the best of quality, I think the little running action is so adorable that I wanted to share it here.
Its little legs carry its little body so quickly over the sand. The sand is quite loose, so I could not get a nice run like this little friend. My weight worked against me, as I sank into the sand with every stride. The little plover won!
Not only did the little plover friend run away from me, but it also ran away from the crashing waves! The beach at Kleinmon in the Western Cape has tremendously big waves crashing right on the beach. There are no small waves that lead to bigger ones at the back. No, the big waves crash right on the beach. So this little plover ran away from me, but also the massive waves!
In the end, we ran a couple of circles around each other. I wanted to sneak up on him/her, but I could not. Hopefully, this little plover found some snacks, as even I grew hungry due to all of the running around.
It is so important that we keep these birds around. Luckily, there is ample space at the beach for them to nest, as it is close to the nature reserve. But not all of these birds are that lucky. We might think that we are not hurting them but when we buy new homes on "useless" ground, we are essentially taking away their homes. Or the homes of their prey.
Hidden either between the various grasses or blending in with the sand, this little friend is always a delight when I see them. It had a little friend with them, hopefully a breeding partner. For now, I will give them a little rest, even though it is me who needs the rest!
I hope that you enjoyed these photographs of a beautiful little bird and my running musings.
For now, happy birding, and photographing. Keep safe.
All of the writings in this post are my own. The photographs used in this post were taken by me with my Nikon D300 and Tamron 300mm zoom lens.
