A sandpiper with her eggs

[zaplig]

A pair of sandpipers layed for eggs on a parking lot next to my work and defend them with their bodies.

[LisaHebert]

That is awesome.

[Rubina]

Great capture.

[Gems]

They are nesting on the ground? That is crazy! Should have picked a safer spot!!!

Anyway, good shot. How close did you get?

[eye_q]

nice shot..........are the bird's eyes naturally red or are they red with anger at the intrusion?

[zaplig]

Originally Posted by Gems

They are nesting on the ground? That is crazy! Should have picked a safer spot!!!

Anyway, good shot. How close did you get?

I think they layed their eggs on the weekend at the lot, when no cars where there- anyhow, you are right: this is a very dangerous spot. I was about 2 meters from them sandpiper and photographed with the 24-105 L Canon lens.

Originally Posted by eye_q

nice shot..........are the bird's eyes naturally red or are they red with anger at the intrusion?

They are red, and her man was attacking me from the air while I was photographing....

Thanks so much for your comments. :

[Russ]

I'm working on bird ID'ing and my instincts were that this was a Plover, not the closely related Sandpipers. It appears to be a Spur-winged Lapwing, aka Spur-winged Plover, having the same markings, description of eggs (blotchy yellowish), lays eggs in gravel/rocks, and lives in your part of the world (eastern Meditteranean).

[Mike317537]

Love this picture,

[Eric Diller]

nice one....chicks soon!!!!

[zaplig]

Originally Posted by Russ

I'm working on bird ID'ing and my instincts were that this was a Plover, not the closely related Sandpipers. It appears to be a Spur-winged Lapwing, aka Spur-winged Plover, having the same markings, description of eggs (blotchy yellowish), lays eggs in gravel/rocks, and lives in your part of the world (eastern Meditteranean).

Russ- thank you so much for identifying the bird. Great detective work!

Eric and Mike- thanks for your comment.