Saturday, June 30, 2012

Belly of the Beast

There stands the largest Plover of North America. At eleven and a half inches, these black-bellied behemoths strut about the beach with an appropriate air of haughtiness. Why appropriate? Because they're breathing higher air than all the other Plovers and Peeps around them, and they know it!



While photographing these specimen of titanicus ploveriforms, trying to maintain the appropriate levels of awe and reverence, I overheard a plaintive shorebird enviously talking to another about the stately Plover in the distance. They too, stood in awe and envy of these birds. It went something like this:

Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world
Like a colossus, and we pecking hens
Walk under his huge legs and Peep about
To find ourselves running from waves.
We at some times are masters of our fates:
The fault, dear Brutus (must be bird # 2's name), is not in our wingbars,
But in ourselves, for we are Sanderlings.


As one might expect of such superlative, high-class birds, the Plovers did not appreciate my company. After giving me some brief looks, they decided I had taken too much interest in them and soon departed. When they took their leave, one of the forlorn Sanderlings tried to follow the Black-bellied Plover and his platonic (non-breeding plumage) companion.

"Wait! Take me with you!!!"

Together they flew off into the sunset, or at least towards where the sun would set in several hours. So assuming they continued to fly for five more hours (which they probably did not), they flew off into the sunset. Hopefully they did not fly too close to the sun, like Icarus. Hubris is a big problem for big Plovers.

Anyway, my time with the Black-bellied Plovers was brief, but it was beautiful. They're very striking birds with a mojo quite unique from the Turnstones, Sandpipers, Gulls, and everything else that's bustling on the beach all around them. Calm, collected, aristocratic, they bring an element of high-class to the shoreline without a doubt.


Good luck to the Sanderling. Hopefully he can keep up with the Plovers and is not driven mad with an inferiority complex. As Desiderius Erasmus once said, perhaps while doing a little birding himself, "Fortune favors the audacious."

P.S. Bonus points to whoever knows the famous play and scene referenced above!

Original:
Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world
Like a Colossus, and we petty men
Walk under his huge legs and peep about
To find ourselves dishonorable graves.
Men at some time are masters of their fates:(145)
The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves, that we are underlings.

14 comments:

  1. Black-bellied Plovers are definitely one of the sharpest looking shorebirds! Julius Caesar?

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    1. It was humbling to be in their presence, much as one might feel if in the presence of, yes, Julius Caesar!

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  2. Yep, them plovers are sexy little fellows.. Great shots and commentary as always... Caesar would be my guess too but no money on that one.

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    1. Oh that's a shame Jen...you could've won money! Julius Caesar is the play. Maybe it wasn't a great connection though, because no senatorial Sanderlings tried to shank this Plover.

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  3. The first time I saw this bird in along the beach, I smiled. It looked like it wore a frosted wig that Grace Jones may have worn back in the 80's:) I'm glad you got to see one on your trip. Very amazing bird....and you're right, the one that I saw seemed to give me faces as well:)

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    1. Darn...I don't know who Grace Jones is. But yeah, powdered wig describes it well. A Beach without Plovers is a sad beach indeed.

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  4. Laurence, I agree, a beach without Plovers is a sad one indeed.

    This is a wonderful, funny post about a plover I am in awe of. Great job.

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    1. Thanks a lot Mia, always a pleasure to have you stop by and comment.

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  5. One of Shakespeare's best! Although maybe not as good as Taming of the Smew, Titus Ammodramus, or his masterpiece, Omlette

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    1. Yay verily I too would stop short of calling it his best. MacGillivray...or was it MacBeth...I'd have to say that's at least my favorite, and Spamlet may be the most skillfully done. It's curious to me that many people write off the Tempest to be his finest work. That one never struck me as equalling some of his other in brilliance.

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  6. Laurence, you continue to crack me up. Vacationing in Hawaii a few years ago I saw Pacific Golden-Plovers. They were walking the grounds of the hotel - much to my delight!

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    1. Thanks G'ma. Golden Plovers...now thats a treat on a higher level. The difference between a Golden Plover and Black-bellied is perhaps like the difference between Snickers and Milky-way candy bars. Snickers (the Golden Plover) has everything the Milky-way has, plus nut!

      Thanks for stopping by and commenting.

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  7. Very creative Laurence! I saw my first black-bellied plover last summer. It was awe inspiring as well. I don't think my photos were as good as yours though. As for the quote, it is Shakespeare and it is from his play "Julius Caesar."

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    1. Thanks Kathie. You got the play dead-on too. I should've guessed a poet would know it... : )

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