Masked lapwings nesting in absurd locations

I have been watching a pair of Masked lapwings nest on the foreshore of Lake Macquarie for a number of years now.  It's not all that surprising, as it's a seemingly ideal environment, except for a couple of things.

The Masked lapwing family. 

Firstly there is a very busy cycleway within 5 or 6 metres of where they nest every year.  I took the photo above standing right on the edge of the shared cycleway.  Several hundred people would walk, jog, cycle and exercise their dogs right past their nest on a week day.  On a weekend, several thousand people would pass within metres of them.

Of course, the local council mow the grass here regularly.  To their credit, the nesting Masked lapwings are so well-known here that the Council work crews give them a wide berth during the nesting season.  The local residents have even been known to write to the local newspaper congratulating Council for this approach.

Adult Masked lapwing attempting to distract me from it's almost-fledged young by pretending to incubate eggs. 

I think that for a bird whose chief defences against predators is swooping, feigning a broken wing and a strategy of complete immobility by the young when threatened, it is nothing short of miraculous that a dog doesn't race in and grab a chick before it's owner realises the Masked lapwings were breeding.  Another consideration is the fact that there is bushland within 500 metres of this location.  It surprises many city dwellers to discover just how prolific foxes are in this part of the world.  Most people would never see a fox here, but I assure you they are extremely common, and have a supreme sense of smell.  And in the small hours of the morning when all of the residents are in bed, Br'er Fox likes to come calling.  Of course there are also feral cats as well as ever-present "domestic" cats allowed to roam at night to consider as well.

Adult Masked lapwings standing at the nest site, wedged between a VERY busy cycleway and a busier road. 

But it seems that these factors have almost no impact on their breeding success.  The biggest killer seems to be the road.  Traffic surveys have revealed that over 15,000 vehicles pass this spot on a weekday.  It's MUCH busier on a weekend.  The Masked lapwings choose to nest almost on the verge.  About three weeks ago there were four tiny golf-balls of down and fluff skittering about within a metre of the adults at all times.  Sadly, that number has shrunk to two, but the good news is they are _almost_ fully fledged as of this morning.  They will be surely independent of the site by the end of the week.  

Cute little ball of fluff _A L M O S T_ fully-fledged 2nd October 2014.

Good luck little Masked lapwings babies.  May you return to breed here for many decades to come.  And be careful on the roads . . .