Baby Care

In the animal world parents are instinctively very protective of their eggs, chicks and babies.

Even our pet cats will aggressively defend their kittens if some unknown visitor in the house wants to handle the babies.

Recently I was on a birding trip to Safa Park, where two ponds have been declared bird sanctuaries – although more birds are found elsewhere in the park than in this area.

I crossed the gate of the sanctuary and started walking towards a huge bird that I was seeing in the park for the first time.

It was an Egyptian goose, which has established a small population on some Abu Dhabi islands from escaped specimens.

I was trying to get a closer look at the goose when, suddenly, I heard alarm calls produced by a ground-dwelling bird called red-wattled lapwing.

I immediately knew the lapwing had either eggs or chicks nearby.

Four lapwings joined in mobbing the goose which is at least two times larger and 10 times heavier than them.
Amid very loud, raucous calls they were flying overhead and diving back over the goose.

At one point, possibly the mother lapwing, stood face to face with the goose to prevent it from reaching the chicks.
The goose can eat the eggs or chicks of other birds.

The chicks themselves were a safe distance away in a well-camouflaged corner.