Feathers, Fur and Fins

One of my favorite birds is the Kolea or the Pacific Golden Plover.  These birds winter here in Hawaii and summer in Alaska.  They are pretty small, about the size of a large dove, and they fly between here and there twice a year.  Amazing.  This one is a male.  Before they leave for Alaska, which is where they breed, the males all don their tuxedos. When they get here in the fall they are mostly brown and kind of scruffy looking. Before they leave in the spring they molt and the males end up looking like this.

The past couple of nights I realized they are all over the place. They are loners here and tend to stake out a piece of grass and spend their time there.  There is one on the roof of a building at school.  I've been so busy I hadn't even noticed they were back, but the other day when I took a breather from classes there it was.  Just standing on the roof enjoying the sun.  I took a cue from it and did the same thing for a few minutes.  A nice break.