![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJjSszDyPGkp-zkB-bwwnfkzXLcZUhUURrVIvQS4OCKQooymSDo5t-REqPLK9Aq6q-5IzQsiEyKQjj795aR4oh8X6ZZpwy2kupIyGLpixE9yAXqFN2Rg23Q_9bM6TXh1qZbCG0/s400/Red-capped+Plover_Sydney_051210_IMG_4203.jpg)
Most plovers adopt a 'Look-walk-peck' hunting strategy. These plovers were odd in that they did the opposite - 'peck-walk-look'! They would always make a little run after pecking at the surface.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyjR6JajX6O5U3rBIffNneVWgVdMdsrtaz0E5fj6laolmToG8sc0KV30Xz2FPFcyz0aT8allqIas3Vg1gvQtGvKeXsuBN_t3iiUfWuoQDowzKjP_DQ7HpvXr7IWvufluP1F7BV/s400/Red-capped+Plover_Sydney_051210_IMG_4208.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMQSXrZ7IaJ8ysnRu5f7jVm1BDMF4y10QmQzkWbQ_aEoKuo2JgnKvjiBeUlbrqMUnFeObn2UWVG1NS3DMTBdO_-sv4WFhrTy-VghY0gIxqJD5Ya3UzzRe9aejCwH58knhGFHa_/s400/Red-capped+Plover_Sydney_051210_IMG_4243.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVYNcbGPXgNCDpi7kbXroKWrvxnk9aEVYWhygFrvFFgL9IofuTNsAMen9J0lqJHvgb0Pq76BVwM5DYp1F9k5OVvUQ4uIQljNhORSRQyVOpmFN-8cfOaxLud5bfM8V9p77LenyJ/s400/Red-capped+Plover_Sydney_051210_IMG_4244.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijuT1I6iSksjq5sC4e9PPo16XFLQoYZGSEVL5VsFWWViSXf1Ulmhdtx2NaUBD2Fi1lc3KJpVIW-vkFRnDiTldvMFrnDlv7_hS5pvR4Q5Ih1THx4KZJ08eRPE7Yxc7X9Yblz1mu/s400/Red-capped+Plover_Sydney_051210_IMG_4246.jpg)
These two males were in breeding plumage. They looked very similar, except that one had more black on the sides of the neck and breast.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLoGETk-_wHpf8_rIXuTsxUpoEUTJ9MediPjKnk64kfLH-dRyKccJ_L0fg_n5XKI1tGhrslF3ONo6wfrAFr-9Sn0eP-ncH1Z8IKPpaMVMvp62VQ2prk0T_VnZbmTQOz1IfFDo_/s400/Red-capped+Plover_Sydney_091210_IMG_5109.jpg)
Two birds in fresh plumage. I'm not certain, but I think the bird on the left is a juvenile, and the other is a non-breeding adult.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRow_bbg-6Es1CobjDxLvHayMMP7Yfb7t-nAnR1iA3v8RWAB8evj3Ijs-b7IkLt-PYh9TBm5vG7jE4gdg79G1Ott5wRTBmZlg3F9odOQ9EuT1XVriu2Gg6TOpnEQ7A-iiQw_xW/s400/Red-capped+Plover_Sydney_091210_IMG_5093.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHeqelsNRVONXyedHWe70pKbUQM7ncUe3Fxo_9aLTIVZHiPHNObhXrO4RVHuXD3eD9mjwQH_QFwqy3P5MEAJpEWlIsuMqMFdfR0hEM9Jyr2z_nYxseATb1OaxNTSAvK4jNi4O0/s400/Red-capped+Plover_Sydney_091210_IMG_5089.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgThbubX-6uy2yITiSEnwKvGgKnsI7D0Vy1ams9HoeYXTCtx33hL7QEKE0JFawnWCpP7mac_lgHhDtNQDIe_EuMX8O6POpvKdqmM8LUGbvJpJWO1Z5EXQgx4vSKd-jrtd0tkKIT/s400/Red-capped+Plover_Sydney_091210_IMG_5101.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4aDl6qZQGLvcAHXtI4nCT6xnO15Fw5tlPmIXtwh3EBkWLew1FOEL9P0CWmhJTDMwu5A-W5BdTSVIztKQI-5dANl_9aro02YN7GNrIwiF6bcxu3he67dIw0zExlywecm9ReEsK/s400/Red-capped+Plover_Sydney_091210_IMG_5130jpg.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2qzROQgDxYjD84KhcPz29_GF3zHrw9UwMhJnQ1-5vm_ATE8zHSwQzwg_kgU2fh-chH_e8PWk5YDacyULLtlM7oPWPdGL3qEEfxM-dZvNjg97yo1kvJ1A6qIDMCys4fm_TzUXF/s400/Red-capped+Plover_Sydney_091210_IMG_5123.jpg)
I was fortunate to come across a pair of Hooded Plovers on a beach in Victoria. They had young, so I kept my distance.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPr-8YauD4Gpg7JAaO277QN0EDl_HQiqm5ItahfIzQMA_fMvevBbmnaWiS8WlnijJ2ad3IfjshtApcqqH8aycbARISxdZqlQ0DtYmUQKCxDX0SZv7f39Vgew1WbXCPOq2BEJJq/s400/Hooded+Plover_Gt+Ocean+Rd_251110_IMG_2834.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiEJ7vRIj5WW_rDBgAJklCedKPLpvvzlCIg1OQ56EQ_6Bx6SHqEIIA7OHBz4ntBq-i_0nr-N0riBD7xF0sc5s1Rd6Hi_4GFj65D43fwAkTzkY7qTJSEpzgUnPjTlrzoA1vSDtF/s400/Hooded+Plover_Gt+Ocean+Rd_251110_IMG_2859.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP4RLzVEUcdrHReMn_2VlEfde6vve4mKwpgcaySfMzDrYx-ybwt97xGRBI7Omf7bHQ8KB7R84CjlXusLouilXomDnq4L2ij2DgqfwShDBmEV_HxhAJO8zCjiaw0Z5N7N3uXSM4/s400/Hooded+Plover_Gt+Ocean+Rd_251110_IMG_2866.jpg)
The other 'bird' in several of these pictures is a Short-tailed Shearwater corpse. The tideline was littered (e.g. 20 birds in a 50 metre stretch) with these wherever I looked, in both Victoria and NSW. I don't know whether such high mortality rates are 'normal', or what causes them.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIX0NM_9kcpw3z7nCYqypJCk1bZUNq64QzgkMlzWEkCjIsuBqHbV2Pg2obAp2s2i2Etk8X_9DORsna9cYin_1Yfnf_fxnr3-oR960m6hXY6GoqXK8TatX-6qeMEvMvnE_cSTqw/s400/Hooded+Plover_Gt+Ocean+Rd_251110_IMG_2882.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2er2etUVZ6Wa32uvHlZn28arEYOFdvB1N83dDcDeZ_2C29n_8ECssw_tgimMzIsY-CTfSst3oyjLi59-D2n-Dzy7PHYytpvUg81oKeq470fZIX101PjoxlUP7tX4eJdh07zKd/s400/Hooded+Plover_Gt+Ocean+Rd_251110_IMG_2886.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYWv5nPP9Kf-6oALv_-EYAvkoFmTfRnBTXtA9IGo1HEpRM7G4A7tetZbi741DdkldU9-j6uPNtGE8QIXnlnoBKzy02qYLt6i4JFlXR_Fuyb6Q5cNB7btGL6YtJBEodyNXx25Y1/s400/Hooded+Plover_Gt+Ocean+Rd_251110_IMG_2931.jpg)
As I lay prone on the sand, one bird wandered over, whether to check me out or just by accident I wasn't sure. Great birds!