As you know if you read my personal blither, I've taken up walking around the block for my daily fitness regime. In the pre-dawn twilight, it's generally peaceful and nothing much is going on.
Not this morning.
This morning, a lovely pair of nesting murder-birds [aka "plovers" aka Masked Lapwings] decided that my morning walk was personally offensive and invasion of their privacy.
Now, plovers will warn you with their signature 'back off' call of sharp, harsh shrieks [spelled "kee kee kee" phonetically] If you get close enough, they fly straight at you. Usually with the intent to score some significant part of your body with the spurs on their wings.
People have been hospitalised by plover strikes.
Everyone's first instinct when the plovers fly close is to duck and run. It's a relatively sound strategy. IF you have working knees and can actually run without falling over.
Friend of mine recommended walking with confidence. Well, I knew if I tried that, there and then, I would be walking away with contusions. Plovers dive-bomb anything that moves.
Therefore, I stood with confidence. Waited until they lit and started walking around, and then took a few calm steps on my way. It probably helped that my hair is currently HEY I'M TOXIC orange. So I succeeded in confusing them and progressed slowly through murder-bird central.
I also told them, very calmly, that I was wasn't going to hurt them or their babies. It's all right. I'm just walking.
Now I have two choices. Keep up my usual habits and hope they get used to me, alter my daily walk to twice around the "safe" block, or somehow figure out a way to bribe them.
What human foods do plovers love, anyway? And what's actually good for them?
Opening this one for comments. I really need to know how to bribe a plover.