This was sent to BIRDCHAT by Jeff Wilson and forwarded to me by Tom
Schooley. It's much too wonderful not to share. I've already written Jeff
and praised both his prose and his understanding of a bird. He informed me
that he has seen 42 (!) species of shorebirds at Memphis, surely one of the
premier areas for these birds along the Mississippi River.

Next time you think of someone as an ol' coot, think of this.

>A Least Sandpiper---Eye To Eye
>
>I was alerted to your arrival by a Killdeer's gaze, it saw you long
>before I could. I followed its stare and then I made out your small
>group, dropping in with the zigzagging flight so characteristic of
>Least Sandpipers. I also could tell you were new comers by how
>you selected a landing site. Looking over several places among
>the mix of feeding sandpipers you would start to settle and each time
>I thought you were landing, some one would see a better place.
>The group would pickup and fly closer, after such a long flight
>it must be hard to turn off the engines. I had settled myself with
>almost as much thought, my back to some Giant Ragweed to break
>my outline. The ragweed is certainly living up to its name this year,
>as some towers to 10' or more. I also sat with the sun and wind
>at my back for better lighting and I knew you would feed or stand
>facing the south breeze. At last a consensus was stuck and your group
>selected the flat in front of me, immediately you all started to feed.
>That was a good sign, because it showed you were planning to stay,
>otherwise there would have been preening and instant sleep by your
>members and you would have left for the southern skies within the
>half hour. Your group of all youngsters, some older, some younger,
>started feeding in my direction, fat cells had to be filled out for the
>long journey ahead. You had come to the right place as eggs, larvae
>and flies are in abundance here at the pits. I sat still, waiting for one
>of your group to find me and give the alarm but feeding is now
>paramount. You now relied on the many resting groups that have
>been here for a few days to give warning of danger, all had stood vigil
>in turn, for in the sun sometimes lurked the forms feared by you all.
>
>When you and yours had approached to within 10 feet, someone
>sensed my presence and a shutter went through the group, it was
>as if you were tied together. I tried not to breathe. The stare of
>nine sets of eyes riveted to mine, all asking the same question, was
>a powerful but fleeting experience and all but you moved away.
>You added a few feet between us as insurance, but then you stood
>and questioned more, I searched within for a way to answer. The
>black of your pupil surrounded by the dark brown iris opened into a
>swiftly working, highly programmed brain, much superior to any
>pentium chip. Inside were all the detailed maps and links to information
>about which we can only speculate and hope one day to tap. This was
>your first trip here, your fresh, bright rufous tones, white and cream edges
>to your feathering tell me this, but even now you are already going
>through changes, new basic plumage feathers have crept into your mantle.
>
>What does it feel like, being the smallest of your extensive clan?
>Where did your journey start? Where will it end? Will you return as
>some, back north in the first year or will you remain in South America
>for a season? Where was your birthplace in the tundra, maybe Western
>Canada? or the Alaskan coastal region? Will you winter in the U.S. or
>spend your time in French Guiana as some of your banded brothers have
>shown? I note some of your friends (siblings?) have molted more than
>you but others show no changes at all in their bright unworn plumage.
>Where did you feed yesterday? Was it along the lakeside in Illinois or
>a farm pond in Nebraska? How long will you feed here? How is your
>weight gain? Have you seen an Eskimo Curlew?
>
>I have asked too much and the spell is broken; your computer has
>scheduled this time for fueling and with one last look you turn to feed
>in earnest. A curved, all dark and finely pointed bill efficiently does its
>job and the short yellow legs do theirs and I am left to do mine. My heart
>yearns to know more, to question, it searches for a realization. I am left
>with a wonderful feeling of connection, a Least Sandpiper, Eye to Eye.
>
>Good Birding!!!
>
>Jeff R. Wilson
>OL' COOT
>Bartlett, Tenn.
>OLCOOT1 at aol.com

Dennis Paulson, Director phone 253-756-3798
Slater Museum of Natural History fax 253-756-3352
University of Puget Sound e-mail dpaulson at ups.edu
Tacoma, WA 98416
http://www.ups.edu/biology/museum/museum.html