Meet my arch enemy. This little bird has many names: Dr Google refers to it as a Lapwing or Blacksmith Plover. Dad calls it a Kiewiet or a Waterkant Kiewiet (a kiewiet that lives at the water’s edge). Sissy calls it the flippin’ nuisance, the arrogant @#$%& with a death wish, the little sh!t and many other names.
“Vanellus armatus (taxobox)” by © Hans Hillewaert / . Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
We have two breeding pairs living at the edge of our lagune, right there where we have to pass through to get to the beach. All of the wild animals and birds living in our area are right friendly and neighbourly, but these little birds constantly display spiteful, rude, unacceptable behaviour. Dad says they act this way to scare away intruders and protect their nests.
Unfortunately they seem to think that I am the enemy that needs scaring away. Why target me? They scare the living daylights out of me swooping down and pecking at my head. Have you ever seen one of these guys in flight?
“Blacksmith Plover ( Vanellus armatus) 3” by Lip Kee Yap – originally posted to Flickr as Blacksmith Plover ( Vanellus armatus). Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia
So there we were, strolling along the edge of the lagune, looking at the foam and flotsam in the water after our big storms over the weekend …
… when all of a sudden one of these rude flippin’ birds swooped down on me. Sissy took a few swipes at him with her walking stick (which is actually a wooden club that she carries just in case a venomous snake or spider happens along). While she was swiping away and renaming that bird a few more times, I just stood my ground (behind Sissy) and Mom clicked away on her ever present camera. Sissy was not impressed. 😀
During the night a few fishies were washed onto the beach and we were picking them up (fishing on dry ground so to speak) to use as bait when the family goes fishing. Imagine our surprise when Sissy picked up a little fish known around here as a “pinkie” (little finger) and the “bait” started wriggling in her hand.
Being kind of heart, she raced across the divide between the lagune and the sea to put the pinkie back in the water, where it happily swam away. Lucky fish! We did find a few that were already dead (how unfortunate for them), but still rather fresh, and they are now resting peacefully in our freezer, waiting for the annual sardine run to happen, because … swimming right behind those small little sardines are the bigger fish that we here at the top of the food chain are waiting for.
Visit http://www.sapeople.com/2015/06/04/sardine-run-durban-kwazulu-natal-south-coast/) for details of this momentous occasion 😀 😀
Genis's Fat Dog Diary 
My mum says those plovers are very arrogant things. We have some here too but not near where I live. Must be very scary when they dive bomb down on one! 🙂
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We’ve got plover blokes at our house too. They are different colours to yours but they are mean just the same and they have those barb things on their wings. I hate ’em. They swoop at me too and we’ve got a PAIR of ’em on our front lawn. Sometimes I’m too scared to go out and do ‘privacy please’. You know all those names your sissy calls ’em …. That’s what I call ’em too. That was nice of Sissy to put the fishy back in the water
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In our house everyone fishes (except mom) but they never bring the catch home. Somebody always feels sorry for the poor fishies and put them back. Then we have to buy dinner at the fish factory. Little bit crazy don’t you think?
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Hiding is a good strategy! I hid from a bee this weekend. It buzzed near me and I ran behind Mom’s chair. #survivalfirst
Love and licks,
Cupcake
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True. I never pretended to be a guard dog. Dad says I’m a watch dog – always watching out for a snack coming my way 😀
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That’s the most important thing to watch for!
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That was nice to bring that pinkie back to the water… bet your sissy has three free wishes now… like that girl in the fairytale :o) My mom loves that idea to have a wooden club in case you meet a snake or a giant spider… and we yesterday met a snake… and my momma had no stick, so she had to scream like a Banshee… ok, it was a 6-inch blindworm… but it really tried to eat my momma :o)
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Bwaha, screaming is the one thing that all women are good at! But tell your momma that the secret around venomous snakes is to keep very quiet and stand still until they go away on their own.
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I’ve never seen one of those birds. We don’t have then in Florida…I don’t think.
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Well then, you are very lucky. Those things are very rude. They are also very stupid because when they start screeching and dive bombing people, everyone knows that they have a nest close by.
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The starlings that live here do the same thing…sigh!
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
https://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com/sherlock-boomer
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I love ll your stories – especially the crocodile ones. I would like to add that it is not well known that crocodiles are, in fact, very sensitive creatures and need gentle handling. I only wish they would reciprocate!!
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Thank you for the compliment and for reading my stories. Yes, I also believe that all wild animals are quite gentle in their own environment and social structure. They should be treated with respect (and great caution), but should not be hurt unnecessarily.
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You must be very careful of those birds.They have sharp spurs on their wing elbows and there are cases where they actually blinded humans,cats and…sorry to say..dogs too!
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Yes, you’re right, we’ve encountered them before in the Vaal Triangle where they breed in public parks and even on sidewalks. Genis is really scared of them (instinct?) and we’ve decided to stay away from the lake for the duration of their breeding season.
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