Ever heard of a hooded dotterel (aka 'plover')

@JudyEv (325693)
Rockingham, Australia
July 13, 2018 6:33pm CST
Isn't 'dotterel' a strange word? I wonder how it came about. Hooded dotterels or plovers (Charadrius cacullaus) are small timid shorebirds that nest from August to February on beaches above high tide mark and into the dunes. Disturbance is their biggest threat. Hooded plovers have one of the lowest rates of chick survival in the world. Parents will abandon eggs and chicks if disturbed. My bird book says they are also called the hooded dotterel. They lay 2-3 eggs in shallow scrapes in the sand so no wonder the eggs and chicks are so vulnerable. Suggestions for aiding the continued existence of the hooded plover include avoiding the area between the high tide mark and the sand dunes. This includes only riding horses below the high tide mark to avoid trampling small exposed eggs; removing rubbish and food scraps which night attract scavengers such as foxes cats and seagulls, collecting discarded fishing line and plastic and moving away quickly if you come across chicks and/or eggs. We didn't see a 'real' plover but this sign was on the Great Ocean Road in Victoria.
11 people like this
11 responses
• Eugene, Oregon
14 Jul 18
We have a snowy plover in Oregon that is under similar protection.
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@JudyEv (325693)
• Rockingham, Australia
14 Jul 18
That's good. I saw quite a lot of 'new' birds in the various states we travelled through.
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@rebelann (111163)
• El Paso, Texas
13 Jul 18
It makes me wonder about evolution sometimes.
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@rebelann (111163)
• El Paso, Texas
14 Jul 18
Yes, but why would nature create an animal that didn't have the sense to protect its young @JudyEv ?
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@JudyEv (325693)
• Rockingham, Australia
16 Jul 18
@rebelann If a mother doesn't protect its young, the young are usually programmed to look after themselves quite well.
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@JudyEv (325693)
• Rockingham, Australia
14 Jul 18
There is certainly a huge variety in the animal (creature) kingdom.
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@snowy22315 (169930)
• United States
13 Jul 18
I think I have heard of them. We have a variety of shore birds that are on our coasts too..more than you would think.
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@JudyEv (325693)
• Rockingham, Australia
14 Jul 18
I'm not very familiar with sea and shore birds. I kept seeing birds that were totally foreign to me.
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@snowy22315 (169930)
• United States
14 Jul 18
@JudyEv Australia might be the bird capital of the world. You have all kinds we don't have here.
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@JudyEv (325693)
• Rockingham, Australia
15 Jul 18
@snowy22315 It happened in Ireland and on the continent too. Lots of birds that I didn't recognise but also a lot that had the same names as ours but weren't the same in appearance - magpies, robins for instance didn't look anything like ours.
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@moffittjc (118433)
• Gainesville, Florida
22 Jul 18
It's a wonder those birds have survived this long if they abandon their nests so easily.
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@moffittjc (118433)
• Gainesville, Florida
29 Jul 18
@JudyEv True, adding in humans and dogs to the natural predators that already ate or destroyed their nests, and it makes sense that they are now endangered.
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@JudyEv (325693)
• Rockingham, Australia
29 Jul 18
I guess they got on perfectly well until humans and dogs started frequenting the beaches so much.
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@just4him (306080)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
14 Jul 18
Sounds like they could be endangered. They're a cute looking bird.
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@JudyEv (325693)
• Rockingham, Australia
16 Jul 18
Yes, they are endangered. They desert the nest and chicks if they're disturbed.
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@just4him (306080)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
17 Jul 18
@JudyEv That's too bad they do. It doesn't give the chicks much chance of survival.
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@JudyEv (325693)
• Rockingham, Australia
20 Jul 18
@just4him The chicks would have to be very lucky.
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@dgobucks226 (34348)
25 Jul 18
We have plover nesting areas at one of the beaches I go to near where I live. They have signs protecting them and it is roped off to the public.
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@JudyEv (325693)
• Rockingham, Australia
31 Jul 18
It's good that the birds and their nests are being protected.
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@dgobucks226 (34348)
2 Aug 18
@JudyEv Yes, with their low survival rates definitely a good thing
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@RasmaSandra (73408)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
14 Jul 18
Very interesting. I had heard the word plover but didn't know anything about these birds.
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@JudyEv (325693)
• Rockingham, Australia
14 Jul 18
They are very different from the birds in West Australia that I know as plovers.
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@JohnRoberts (109857)
• Los Angeles, California
14 Jul 18
I have never heard of the bird but there are many I am not familiar with.
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@JudyEv (325693)
• Rockingham, Australia
14 Jul 18
I saw lots of 'new' birds in the different states we visited. I've been trying to get photos then identify them with my bird book.
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@redurnet (1799)
• United Kingdom
21 Jul 18
I think of myself as a birder but I have always thought that seabirds are the most difficult to tell apart and also the names are strange like this!
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@JudyEv (325693)
• Rockingham, Australia
29 Jul 18
I found a 'stint' the other day. That's a sea bird too.
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@Icydoll (36717)
• India
14 Jul 18
I had heard about these birds..these are very interesting birds
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@JudyEv (325693)
• Rockingham, Australia
15 Jul 18
They are cute little things aren't they?
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@Icydoll (36717)
• India
15 Jul 18
@JudyEv yes ,very cute one's
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@Jessabuma (31700)
• Baguio, Philippines
14 Jul 18
I am not aware of this, it's my first time hearing this words
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@JudyEv (325693)
• Rockingham, Australia
14 Jul 18
I'm sure the Philippines has some lovely birds too.
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@Jessabuma (31700)
• Baguio, Philippines
14 Jul 18
@JudyEv yes we do have many lovely birds here too
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