I was watching some Pied Oystercatchers and noticed these 3 in particular. Initially, one sidled up to the bigger one, put its head down and calling. I thought "youngster, wanting food". Then, it was joined by another and they both noisily frogmarched together behind the bigger one. It was quite well timed. The bigger one basically ignored them and kept walking placidly along.
I assume starving youngsters harping for food aren't going to march in orderly fashion like this so I take it this is courting behaviour?
Thanks Wendy,what a fantastic photo. The two "marching boys" look so similar, I wonder which one she will pick?
What a great observation. Were you very close to them, or do you have a very long lens?
M-L
Great shot Wendy. Does look very much like they are trying to impress the lovely lady! Did one eventually move off?
I've cropped out some but I wasn't that far away with my Canon 7D and 400mm prime (as you know, lenses are never long enough!) - I tend to wait in one spot, sometimes for an hour or so, for whatever comes along so I was sitting up the beach a bit. The Siberian migrants turn up around this time of year and there's always something interesting going on there, birdwise, so long as the "gun" photographers haven't been through, disturbing and flushing everything and totally clearing the shoreline. The stints and red-capped plovers never catch a wink, poor little mites.
Ms Oystercatcher was a strapping lass so no wonder the boys were interested but they basically just fizzled out when she wandered into the water after a couple of minutes of parading around. I think I read somewhere that they do "faux" courting, just going through the motions, so that must have been it. I'll keep going back to see if they come back and things get serious.
While I was sitting there, an osprey crashed into the water a fair way out and had a devil of a time getting up in the air again. Fish is too big, thinks moi. He dropped back into the water, settled there for a bit (it's shallow for a long way out but great, now I'll have to wade out and rescue him if he gets waterlogged) then took off again, struggling with the load. When I got the (very bad) shots enlarged up on the computer, the greedy thing had a fish in each foot and he was trying to keep a grip on both.
Wendy
Mandurah, WA
Peel-Yalgorup System Ramsar Site
http://www.flickr.com/photos/girlinoz/
that would have been great to see
Peter