Ocean
Watch
Monday, August 26, 1996
Golden plovers are back
for their Hawaiian feast
About two weeks ago, I had a golden plover day. My
phone rang just as I was getting out of bed. "Sorry to call so
early," a longtime reader's voice said. "I wanted to tell you
that the golden plovers are back."
"What?" I mumbled.
"The plovers. They're back in Hawaii. I saw one
yesterday at home and another today at work. You know, you haven't written
about plovers in a long time."
"Thanks for the news," I said, admiring this
bird-lover's enthusiasm.
A couple of hours later, a surfer friend mentioned that
he had seen a sign of summer's end: A plover was in the beach park. Later
that afternoon, I received a notice in the mail announcing a new golden
plover publication.
That monograph, which arrived last week, turned out to
be a treasure trove of information about these exquisite shorebirds.
Hawaii's winter visitors, called Pacific golden
plovers, make some of the longest migrations in the world, some traveling
more than 4,000 miles in nonstop flights over water. Such journeys occur
twice a year - in April, when the birds fly to their Arctic breeding
grounds, and in August, when they return to their tropical wintering
grounds.
The first birds to arrive, and likely what my caller
and friend saw, are mature females, pooped from the chores of egg laying
and chick rearing. The males, who also sit on eggs and feed hungry mouths,
appear next. In October, most of the juveniles arrive.
In Hawaii, golden plovers also called kolea, are
unmistakable, prancing on delicate legs in a distinct stop-run-stop motion
on beaches, in grassy beach parks and even on paved surfaces. But this
dainty dance isn't for our entertainment. These birds are busy searching
for any invertebrates - and some vertebrates - they can find. On the
beach, these are snails, crabs, and worms; on the ground it's pests such
as roaches, spiders and slugs. Sometimes, plovers eat small fish, skinks
and geckos.
Pacific golden plovers hold a colorful place in the
islands' history.
Some people believe that ancient seafaring Polynesians
interpreted the plover's migration cycle to mean that land lay to the
north, thus leading to Hawaii's human colonization.
Judging from ancient middens, or trash heaps, Hawaii's
early settlers valued plovers for food as well as guidance. Hunters caught
the birds with leg snares, using worms for bait.
Plovers are often mentioned in hula chants and Hawaiian
folklore. These birds were thought to be the embodiment of Koleamoku, a
god of healing and a messenger of chiefs.
During the 19th and early 20th centuries, golden
plovers were hunted with abandon. Near New Orleans in the spring of 1821,
hunters shot about 48,000 of them in a single day. In the 1850s in
Portland, Maine, hunters sold dead plovers for 25 cents a dozen, many
spoiling before being sold.
Hunters also shot Pacific golden plovers in Hawaii
until 1941, often exceeding the daily limit of 15.
Golden plovers are now protected in nearly all of the
Western Hemisphere, but hunting still occurs in Barbados, parts of South
America, India, China, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia. About 2,000 birds
a year are shot in Java alone.
Researchers believe Hawaii has recovered its former
golden plover numbers.
These shorebirds are territorial, usually returning to,
and defending, the same wintering spot year after year. If a plover comes
to your yard or beach each year, it's probably the same individual.
Plovers' feathers change from golden brown in winter to
striking breeding colors in spring.
If you get to know one of these birds, you may have a
friend for a long time. Golden plovers can live at least 15 years.
