A Bird with Too Few Lovers
Fri, 18 Sep 2009 12:29 pm – Posted by Mandy | 2 Comments
Guest Blogger: Campaign Manager for the Masked Lapwing & Field Officer for Forest & Bird, Aalbert Rebergen
Masked Lapwing, Photo: B Donald
I’m not surprised that the spur-winged plover, or better: “masked lapwing” as it is called in Australia and the rest of the world, receives little mention in the ‘polls’ or receives praises from our VIPs.
Some may think that it’s not even a native and can’t qualify for “bird of the year”. But it is as much a New Zealand native bird as the welcome swallow, pied stilt, silvereye, white-faced heron (good on you Steve Braunias!) and several others.
It’s just an amazing bird and boy do kiwis hate them. People hate their “awful noise”; they can’t stand the fact that they defend their chicks vigorously against harriers and possibly magpies. Or that they are SO successful, SO Australian maybe……?