I will never forget my first encounter with a River Plover. I have left my car by the side of the road, I am all hung with the gear (masking net, tripod, lense, chair) as I still have got couple of hundred meters to my spot – I am planning on photographing a Corn Crake - when suddenly I heard strange noises. I look at the ground within couple of meters from me, nothing, silence. I am on my way and I hear the squealing again. I stop packing and again look through faintly grassy field. Silence. I took the chair, approached the voice by couple of meters and sat down “scanning” the field centimeter by centimeter. It looked amusing to say the least. A guy sitting on a fishing chair, without a rod in the field looking at the ground. I hope no one saw me there. And suddenly, almost blending into the surrounding, the River Plover. I slowly went for the camera and a tripod and from 7-8 metres I started taking photos. But what is it? I think my little hero is hurt. He draws his one leg along or is ailing his wing, lies on his side and stays like this. It is strange that his ailments appear alternately and in an instant he runs away quickly when the distance between us is getting smaller. I realised I was photographing little simulator, which for protection of his nest, marks his wounds to drow me away from it. I took a couple of pictures and went away not to disturb it anymore, so to this day I do not know when the nest was and what was in it. I often watch programmes on nature channels. When I see a movie about hipos or crocodiles in Africa, where the River Plover winters and I see those little birds sneaking in the background I wonder if it isn't my acquainted simulator. River Plovers are filigree birds living near the rivers, lakes and ponds. They can not compete with Sparrows when it comes to weight and their wingspan is around 40 centimeters.
Last minute news 08/2013
It took a while to turn the gallery with few photos and plain background into a gallery with numerous ones and in addition of much better quality. I even managed to record the voice of a little ringed plover. It did not take a lot of time for them to get used to my presence and to continue their normal state of preying almost without a brake. ”Almost” because in the meantime the birds were posing for my photos or just relaxing, falling asleep while standing. Being on the lookout, making radical changes in the old gallery and above all creating the new one brought me so much joy.
Last minute news 08/2014
Little ringed plovers would come by so close that the lens wouldn't focus. My collection of plovers is already sizeable, but in the context of enhancing the way of presenting this species, the gallery has undergone some change.
Last minute news 04/2015-Malta
The pictures were taken on the artificially created water reservoir described in the text about the wood warbler. Against the background of a reddish-colored earth the photos are an interesting variety in the previous gallery. Little ringed plovers were mating there, which I managed to capture in the pictures.
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