Denali Road Trip, 2022, Day Four, Part Two

 

 

Day Four, Part Two

David vs. Goliath

 

 

 

 

Recap:   I had pulled off the Denali highway into a  gravel pit to take a photo of a scenic lake and cabin.  Then, I drove drown into a  large dip and was charged by a little bird.

 

I slowly move a little closer and the bird races toward me.  Whoa!   I mean, it’s four or five inches high, for Pete’s sake.   It blends in with the stones on the ground so unless you keep your eye on it, or it moves, it's very hard to see.

 

 

 

Through binoculars I identify the bird as a semi-palmated plover.   The “semi-palmated” refers to its partially webbed feet.  They are handsome little shorebirds, usually seen around water.

 

 

I get down on the ground as gracefully as I can, which means I kneel, try to sit, and tip over backwards.   There is no grace involved in that, but I get back to a sitting position so I can brace my heavy camera on my legs.  

 

 

 

The plover doesn’t leave.  This is strange, I think.    I take a few photos, manage to stand upright, and go back to the truck.

The plover runs forward and crouches down.   Aha!   There’s a nest there and I would have run right over it if the bird hadn’t charged me to defend it.    At this point, my truck is ten feet from the nesting bird. 

 

 

  It seems content to be back on the nest.

 

I note a few landmarks around the bird so I can find the tiny nest again and take a few steps forward.   The bird runs to the right.

I walk forward slowly and find the nest in front of a large white stone that I'd noted.  I take a couple photos and put the camera back in the truck.

 

 

Four speckled eggs that seem too large to be laid by a small bird.

 

Then, I find the largest rocks I can carry and build a barricade in front of the nest so no one else can run over it.   Not even a big truck would want to drive over those rocks and there is still plenty of room to turn around elsewhere, which I do.   The plover is close but doesn’t charge me.  

 

I thank the plover profusely. When I leave, the plover is back on the four eggs and I am smiling.

 Plover challenged Dodge and the plover won.  Sounds almost like a country-western song.

 

It’s a good day.