The plover chicks across the road are getting bigger and causing consternation to their harried parents. One has sadly fallen prey to the ever watchful kookaburras but the other two continue to delight us with their antics.
The biggest chick has decided he is ready to fly and runs everywhere, wings outstretched. He seems disappointed that he has yet to take to the sky but I'm sure all this practice will be strengthening his wings. The good thing is that it deters the kookaburras.
His smaller sibling keeps close to Mum, scouring the ground for worms and insects and hiding behind ground cover when I come near.
The parent plovers (aka Masked Lapwings) will continue to monitor the chicks until they are adult size. Indeed, I have seen some chicks that have refused to leave the parental home and continue to hover around next year's babies.
