Cute Chicks on the Beach

Sometimes your timing is impeccable and you get to see days old chicks running around and looking as cute as possible

Two chicks hatched here and were running around together. They're about 3-5 days old.
This adult is around 11 years old and returns to this island chain almost every year to breed. 

Following tracks is really helpful for understanding what the birds - and their predators - are doing. I thought this was a good example of all the tracks together. The blue little pigeon-toed (or plover-toed lololol) tracks are nervous little piping plovers. The big, rounded orange tracks are dorky oystercatchers. The yellow line is showing ghost crab tracks - they walk with anywhere from 2-8 of their legs and usually walk sideways. 

This adult is a female - you can tell from how light and small/not connected at the front her 'collar' is. In males it is normally dark black, thicker, and connects in the front. Her beak is also not very orange. This pair had 4 eggs. 1 egg didn't hatch and this was the only chick seen.

You can see the little legs of the chick nestling under its parent!