Black-necked Stilt with chicks

What the heck is going on here? Well, the adult stilt - with the long red legs - is kneeling down to offer the chicks cover in my presence. The four gray legs represent two chicks beneath her, and the trailing third pushed his way in soon after I snapped this frame. I didn't even notice how close I'd come to the family because I was scanning the marsh for phalaropes, but I paused to capture a few frames when the opportunity presented. It would have been fun to have a shot of the three chicks orbiting the adult, but I didn't want to stick around and stress the birds more than I already had. The birds need to be more important than the shot, particularly with youngsters involved.

Hayward Regional Shoreline, Alameda County, California, 5/25/20
Canon 600mm f/4 IS II on EOS 1DX Mark II
1/2000 at f/5.6, ISO 800