[Birdtalk] Tribute to Kolea

[Kristin Purdy]

This post is not about a bird that has been documented in Utah--yet. But the recent discussion about the intriguing plover on Antelope Island Causeway dredged up some memories from when I used to live in the Pacific Golden-plover's range. The ID of the Pluvialis plovers there was not in question. 

Visitors to Hawaii, whether birders or not, can't help but notice the Pacific Golden-plover. These birds are both tame and ubiquitous when wintering on Pacific Islands from August through March. It was odd to see the plump shorebirds standing on patches of urban and suburban grass and in parking lots. You could pass by the same patch of grass every day and see the same plover. The bird likely established its territory on that patch--an area about the size of a football field--and defended it from other plovers.   

The plover's Hawaiian name is Kolea, which means 'one who takes and leaves'. The leaving time occurs from about the end of March through April. I didn't need to watch the calendar to know that it was time. The plovers would start gathering in a great roosting flock in my building's parking lot at night as March waned. Each bird was separated from the next by 10 or 20 feet. Squabbles were frequent. Migration loomed. 

I arrived at work before dawn, parked my truck far from the building and then walked past many plovers in the dark. The birds cleared a path for me by running a few delicate steps. I felt very powerful--like Moses parting the Red Sea!

As day dawned and cars filled the lots, the birds would leave and likely disperse to their individual territories. But evidence of their presence was obvious. The ground was polka-dotted with white plover excrement. Seeing all those dots engendered a somewhat melancholy feeling, for it meant the leaving time was close.

The plover's annual alternate molt also occured in late winter. It was possible to watch the progress of the molt on an individual bird--the one defending the patch of grass you passed every day. The black face and underparts filled in. The thick white stripe around the forehead and shoulders, which I always thought looked like a barrister's wig, also developed. 

While the molt was underway, the birds were stuffing themselves to build the fat reserves for their remarkable 3000-mile 2-day flight to the North Slope of Alaska. The bellies grew black while the bellies grew large. I'd see a plover and marvel at the size of his beer gut (bug gut?). How was that bird was going to launch himself off the ground when it was time? 

And then they'd start disappearing and you knew the population was on its way to a land probably still locked in ice and snow. The months until their mid-summer return seemed long. I always felt both relief and comfort for some reason with the first sightings of Kolea in late July. I could watch them again. The returning birds still had their black bellies and white shawl collars, but they appeared ragged, skinny, and subdued.  

The annual basic molt followed quickly and the barrister's wig and black bellies disappeared. This was, instead, the time to appreciate the plumage on the bird's upperparts. The spangling of yellow, white and black on the plover's back made the bird look like it had been sprinkled with flecks of 24-karat gold, white quartz and black onyx. Because these birds are very tame, you could sometimes appreciate the colors from a distance of just a few feet. 

The bird I appreciated the most, however, was at a distance of about 100 feet. One day I looked out the second floor lanai of my house and there was Kolea in my yard near the Plumeria tree. The bird stayed for a couple days and then left. Perhaps the ultra-groomed lawn was too sterile and didn't support the insect population the bird needed. I would have loved to host this winter visitor until the leaving time, but perhaps just seeing Kolea out there was enough.

Kris
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