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About Masked Lapwings nesting in among the traffic on median strips and
grassed roundabouts, I would add this bit: Yes they clearly do this a lot. This
suggests the "thought process" of the nesting birds probably goes like this,
provided they are able to learn the trajectory of cars and fly into the site
safely, then they are safe from cars and probably safer from predators.
Obviously eggs don't move so they are safe from cars. The question is about
whether the available habitat is sufficient for chicks until they can fly to
somewhere better or whether most chicks are likely to be doomed from cars when
they try to disperse before they can fly. Are nesting adults capable of thinking
that far ahead?
Peter
could add Thlyacine to the list. And of course the Masked Lapwing is abundant in
Tasmania.
Philip
Hello
John,
I
think the greatest danger for Masked Lapwings and other ground nesting birds
these days is from foxes and cats. I think that they spend a lot of time in
places where they plan to nest and if it feels safe to for them when nesting
time comes around they go ahead and nest there. They would have been doing this
throughout their evolution and does not necessitate learning or great ingenuity
to avoid foxes and cats but was adaptive to avoid dingoes, quolls and tassie
devils before they (the tassie devils)were displaced by dingoes on the mainland.
Peter
From: John Harris
[
Sent: Thursday, 23 January
2014 11:45 AM
To: jude hopwood; COG
Subject: Re:
[canberrabirds] Masked Lapwings
I
never cease to be surprised at the ingenuity of lapwings around Gungahlin (and
no doubt elsewhere) in choosing to nest in among the traffic on median strips
and grassed roundabouts. They have learned, with what appears to me to be
remarkable speed, that the safest place is on the grassed median strips – people
don’t go there, dogs don’t go there and even the cars stay on the bitumen! The
only danger seems to be the mowing contractors so people here put up signs about
protecting the nests to warn the mowers. They was recently a problem with the
erection of mobile towers on roundabouts but people spoke to the technicians and
as far as I know the birds survived. I don’t suppose it is reasonable for us to
expect that the lapwings, having thought about people, dogs and cars, to think
also about mowers and mobile tower construction! Ah the problems we all
have with advanced technology!
From:
jude
hopwood <>
Date:
Thursday, 23 January 2014 4:31 am
To: COG <>
Subject:
[canberrabirds] Masked Lapwings and Shoalhaven Wonga
pigeons
ML
1. Two and a half weeks ago when cruising through Shoalhaven, Lake Burrell was
the centre of Masked Lapwing breeding on footpaths outside many homes along the
lake's shore. A wonderful thing although nerve-wracking to see DY running around
playing in the grasses with people walking past with dogs on leashes and no
attacks from the parent birds!
ML
2. Further to reports I'd made last year of the desperate and repeated efforts
of a pair to breed in an enclosed courtyard at a school where I worked. At least
4 lots of eggs from the same pair were removed by the school gardener before
they gave up. Pleas for clemency remained unheard.
Yesterday
at Fisherman's Paradise, a pair of Wonga pigeons booming away in the
conservation reserve at the boat ramp. Interestingly, the local authorities have
developed a formal BMX bike circuit in a small space right next to this dense
piece of (weed-infested) forest.
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