Mr. Necker on August 21, 2025. ©Tom Fake
September 2, 2025
It’s thrilling to see a bird that we recognize in a yard, field, or park, and I personally say hello and congratulations to the ones I know. These birds have flown an astonishing 6,000 miles round-trip in about 4 months, and each deserves a verbal pat on the back.
My Jake got one. He arrived August 20th on his grassy space around a sprawling monkeypod tree. My first photo of Jake is dated 2016, making this male at least nine years old.
Some people might think it silly to get excited over a barely-visible bird on a distant lawn, but we plover lovers get it. This is our Jake on August 20th. He has returned there for nine years now.
Another plover that gets a gold star on its gold back is Mr. Necker, the bird banded and tagged in Punchbowl Cemetery by plover researcher Wally Johnson in a March, 2022 study. Mr. Necker flew to Alaska, then Russia, then Mokumanamana, former known as Necker Island, in Hawaiʻi’s Northwest Chain.
Mr. Necker recaptured on October 21, 2022 in Wally Johnson’s gentle hands. Wally placed a satellite tag to the bird as a tiny backpack in March, 2022. In removing the tag, Wally saw no damage to legs or feathers. ©Susan Scott
Because the bird’s battery went dead there, no one knew where the bird flew next. To our delight, Mr. Necker showed up in his precise place in Punchbowl Cemetery on October 20, 2022. Late for an adult, but that he made it back at all is a miracle.
We can continue our admiration of this roving bird. Bird fan and extraordinary photographer, Tom Fake, got photos of Mr. Necker on August 21 in the bird’s precise spot in Punchbowl Cemetery.
Close-up of Mr. Necker’s leg bands August 21, 2025. ©Tom Fake
Join us plover lovers Saturday at Magic Island to celebrate Jake, Mr. Necker, and all our other amazing bird returns to Hawaii.
We know Hawaiʻi is the best place in the world to spend winters, and so do the birds. Come celebrate with us.
Chu-WEET (aloha in kōlea talk), Susan