There are many varieties of birds known as Plovers, most of which live on the seashore. They dart among the waves searching for food churned up by the water. They “dine” on pieces of oysters, clams or other bits of sea-life.
Two of these varieties are known as Golden Plovers, because of the pretty golden markings on the upper parts of their bodies.
The American Golden Plover is the smaller of the two varieties. It nests in northern Canada and Alaska from spring until fall. One feature of God’s remarkable care over Plovers is seen in the way He protects their eggs and young. Nests, scooped out of the sand or gravel, usually hold four eggs. These eggs are spotted and so perfectly camouflaged (hidden by their coloring) that a person could walk right by without seeing them. When the young hatch they are speckled with black and will “freeze” at the mother bird’s command, making them well hidden.
The parents are careful never to fly directly to or away from the nest, like most birds do. Instead, they first walk away from it so anything watching cannot easily tell where the nest is. Where do you think they ever learned these tricks or discovered how to hide their nests, eggs and little ones? We are again reminded that these things were not gradually developed over centuries of time, but were created within the birds when God made them.
In August or September they fly in great numbers to Labrador. From there they fly nonstop in V-formation over two thousand miles to Brazil by way of Bermuda and the Caribbean Sea. In March they return across the Gulf of Mexico and up the Mississippi Valley, back to their northern breeding grounds.
The Pacific Golden Plover is a foot-long bird with an even more amazing life. Nesting in Northern Alaska and Siberia, it flies to Hawaii in the autumn, then on to Malaysia, New Zealand and other Pacific Islands.
The beginning of this journey to Hawaii requires a nonstop flight of over two thousand miles. The adult birds take off first, leaving the young ones to follow later. Doesn’t it seem impossible for these young birds to do this since they have never made the journey before, and Hawaii is just a pinpoint in the mile of the ocean? How do they know they should go there, and how do they ever find their way? Once more the answer is that God has given them instincts that never fail, generation after generation. He tells them when to migrate and sends them safely to their destination.
These birds obey the will of the Lord, their Creator, and are an example of how we should obey Him, too. His Word, the Bible, has instructions for us at every age of our life, and if we walk in His way He will always bless us.
ML-07/18/1982