Today I met the Beach Stone-curlew I last met as an egg!

On 04/11/2018 I was at Hastings Point NSW photographing the local birdlife after a successful O'Reillys workshop.
There was a little commotion on the waterfront and to my surprise a Beach Stone-curlew had laid an egg not 20 feet from the main BBQ in  the busiest section of beach side park opposite the Caravan Park. Families flock there because of the child friendly estuary which provides safe warm water for play. 

The attending parent which I assume was the mother was fretting as there were people close by and dogs off leash running around.
I seriously doubted that there was any hope this egg would hatch!
I should point out at this point that in 2018, there was thought to be only 10 individuals of this species left.
Today I bumped into a couple of Rangers getting a bite at the corner shop and asked them whatever happened to that egg!
To my surprise, they said the egg hatched and the chick survived.
So... I was walking on the beach front looking for my bathing Ospreys and there in among the Crested Terns and a lone Sooty Oyster Catcher was my Beach Stone-curlew. As I edged closer getting photos, I heard another calling and it was Mum - the bird in the pic above.

The reason I know this is the chick is that it is not wearing a tag on its leg.
The great news is that the population is now thought to be 13 individuals. This is still perilously close to extinction.
Lets hope these magnificent birds find a way to survive!