Snowy Plover
Throughout this winter a flock of about a hundred Lapwings has remained about a mile from my house in the Pennines. I have also found several other flocks a little further afield. Many Pennine breeding Lapwings move to the coast and lowlands during the winter, but even during the recent snow these Lapwings have remained "toughing it out", appearing to know that the snow will melt soon. But I cannot get near that flock for a photograph because when Lapwings are in a flock they are very skittish. That's because as soon as the most timid member of the flock calls out and flies, it spooks the whole flock. Two days ago I was out walking in the snow (which has all disappeared now) and I saw a single Lapwing flying low over the fields, which alighted in a field with some sheep right next to my footpath. Bizarrely one sheep seemed annoyed by its arrival and chased it off, but I managed a handful of shots before it departed. Being a lone bird it allowed me much closer approach than the local flock.
I'm sure that many of you will realise that the title "Snowy Plover" is the American name for what we call Kentish Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus). Lapwing is a plover from a different genus (Vanellus) but I liked the play on words. Lapwings are sometimes known as Green Plovers but you can barely see the green back sheen in this face-on shot. I recall being told that the name comes from the French for rain, but according to the Oxford Dictionary of Bird Names that is wrong. The name has been in use in English since the 14th century and did come via Old French from Late Latin plovarius. The name is simply imitative of the far reaching call (ie plover is a bird that makes a "plo" call). It adds that there have been many attempts to make a connection between plovers and rain, by writers ancient and modern, but all have been in vain.
Snowy Plover
Throughout this winter a flock of about a hundred Lapwings has remained about a mile from my house in the Pennines. I have also found several other flocks a little further afield. Many Pennine breeding Lapwings move to the coast and lowlands during the winter, but even during the recent snow these Lapwings have remained "toughing it out", appearing to know that the snow will melt soon. But I cannot get near that flock for a photograph because when Lapwings are in a flock they are very skittish. That's because as soon as the most timid member of the flock calls out and flies, it spooks the whole flock. Two days ago I was out walking in the snow (which has all disappeared now) and I saw a single Lapwing flying low over the fields, which alighted in a field with some sheep right next to my footpath. Bizarrely one sheep seemed annoyed by its arrival and chased it off, but I managed a handful of shots before it departed. Being a lone bird it allowed me much closer approach than the local flock.
I'm sure that many of you will realise that the title "Snowy Plover" is the American name for what we call Kentish Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus). Lapwing is a plover from a different genus (Vanellus) but I liked the play on words. Lapwings are sometimes known as Green Plovers but you can barely see the green back sheen in this face-on shot. I recall being told that the name comes from the French for rain, but according to the Oxford Dictionary of Bird Names that is wrong. The name has been in use in English since the 14th century and did come via Old French from Late Latin plovarius. The name is simply imitative of the far reaching call (ie plover is a bird that makes a "plo" call). It adds that there have been many attempts to make a connection between plovers and rain, by writers ancient and modern, but all have been in vain.