My eyes got the treat of seeing piping plovers in Dennis, as they flew over the cerulean-to-clear water, in small elite squadrons. I’ve watched plovers fly in other places, such as Brant Rock in Marshfield.These tiny mixed pilot-planes always amaze me. They show a precision and intuition in flight, while in groups, that is astonishing. One bird moves; all his wing-men, maybe a dozen others, move with him. It’s all so fast: sudden landing–then, just as abrupt, takeoff without any runway.
The squadrons veer off and then straighten. They show an astonishing superhuman yet military-like precision. More people should watch plovers perform–skip the meat-headed Blue Angel demos. Observation of these little miracles will make us appreciate non-violent flight. And we don’t have to worry about a plover breaking formation, striking another plover, and crashing into the stands and igniting a holocaust among the viewers.
Marc Songini 