Unidentified eggs Wenderholm

[SueCourtney]

My dotterel minder friend and I found this nest on Wenderholm Beach yesterday. It appeared to be abandoned, perhaps because some 'thoughtful' but unfortunately blissfully ignorant beachgoers built a structure around the nest, perhaps to protect it, but in probably scared off the parents as no birds in close proximity. The larger egg seen in this photo has been calculated to be approx. just over 60mm in length, but angle of photo makes this hard to confirm. NZ dotterels, with smaller eggs and VOC nest on this beach, the latter usually later in the season, but the twiggy material in the nest is not usually used by those birds as far as I know. There were also a pair of caspian terns spotted and I wonder if this could be a possibility. Does anyone have any ideas? TIA.

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[Jan]

Kelp Gull/Black-backed Gull use nesting material in that way.

[SueCourtney]

Kelp Gull/Black-backed Gull use nesting material in that way.

Hi Jan. That could be a possibility I didn't factor in. I have seen pairs seen roosting on that beach from time to time.