The Waders' Nests

Each time we walk along the beach we keep our eyes open for activity around the waders' nests we've found. As far as the ringed plovers are concerned, we are now fairly certain that there are at least three nests. One way of checking them is to search with the binoculars for a plover at the top of the beach which is very still and looking away from our approach.

This appears to be the one of the pair who is on guard duty, watching out for intruders like us. He or she only moves if we come too close, at which point the parent sitting on the nest....

.... gets up and moves stealthily away from it. He/she seems to avoid flying, probably because this will draw attention to the location of the nest.

The oystercatchers' nest in the sand at the very top of the beach is all still active. The parent on the nest moves away from it almost as soon as he/she sees our approach. If the other parent is around he/she may get up into the air and scold us noisily or....

....make a very visible walk down the beach in front of us to attract our attention and lure us away from the nest. From seeing this behaviour further down the beach we think there may be two more oystercatchers' nests, probably more wisely located amongst the pebbles of the storm beach.

We haven't approached any of the nests and all are in enough of a depression to be invisible from the lower beach.