2. The first instance of Magic

About halfway through the egg-brooding period, the Large-Eyed Humans performed the first observed instance of Human Magic. This phenomenon manifested in the form of thin, cold strands woven into the peculiar straight-line shapes characteristic of human-made residues. The humans approached the author’s nest with a large quantity of this unbreakable substance. The author deployed BWTT and was ignored by the humans, who, with their dexterous ability to manipulate physical objects using their characteristic fingertalons, rapidly raised a great Magic Circle around the nest. Humans then retreated to a non-threat distance and performed the Large-Eye Ritual, as if in celebration of their feat.

The significance relative to us of this First Magic Act quickly became apparent. At the time of disappearing sun on that same day, a human came walking down the beach with a tame wolf [dog] on a rope. By then the author had discovered that the Magic Circle was woven so loosely as to be inconsequential, since plovers could simply walk in and out at will. The author’s mate was greatly distressed by the possibility of the Magic attracting unwanted attention to the eggs. We were discussing the issue when the human released the [dog] from the rope. The [dog] ran straight for the nest and the author’s mate immediately deployed BWTT and alarm calling.

The author has made a study of the languages of common predators (1) and was able to translate part of the [dog]’s statement: Birds, [unintelligible] birds, birds, [unintelligible] [HEAVY WHUFF (denoting excitement)] What’s inside the cage? What’s inside the cage? What’s inside the cage? [unintelligible] Kennel for birds [end transcript]. The author does not claim to understand the meaning of these statements.

To our amazement, we observed that the [dog] was unable to bypass the Circle, the gaps in which being large enough to admit a plover, but too narrow for larger animals to fit their bodies through. The concept could be compared to that of “sheltering in undergrowth,” a tactic commonly used by small birds to escape predators. There has been some evidence that humans understand and utilize such concepts. After ramming its nose unsuccessfully against the Circle several times, the [dog] returned to its human. We reconvened at the nest and observed that all four eggs were unharmed.

2.1 The fox

Later that night, a fox came by the nest and inserted its foot through one of the holes of the Circle. Upon realizing there would be no access to the nest, the fox made the following statement: Canny, nifty, tricksy, little birds finding tricksy places to hide delicious droolworthy eggs; however, I am a fox and flick my tail at your saliva-inducing delicacy, already off to find finer fare lying elsewhere in the broad black beach domain.

3. The second instance of Magic

Shortly after the First Act, the humans performed a second instance of Magic, which appeared to be a variation on the First Magic, but far more powerful and mysterious. Large-Eyed Humans appeared (by now we had learned to recognize them also by the distinctive pattern of their body-feathers, even those which did not wear Large Eyes) with a long coil of rope and several long, straight, black branches. The humans proceeded to erect the branches at regular intervals along the beach. The rope, white and taut, was strung between the poles. Talismans of the human shape, with four unnaturally straight edges (that shape which the discerning observer can also observe repeated in the pattern of the First Magic), were affixed to this rope, again at various intervals. The talismans were inscribed with Human-Written Language, which differs significantly from Human Tracks, and has not yet been possible to decipher.

3.1 Hypothesized effect of the Human Talismans

We have observed a fascinating phenomenon: a marked tendency by humans to avoid the White Line. Though the rope is easily physically bypassed, the humans are highly averse to traveling under or over it. After several days of observation, we noticed that the aversion to crossing the line seems to be triggered directly after humans view one of the Human Talismans. This led to the formation of one hypothesis, that the talismans contain a deterrent message in Human-Written Language. It may be that the talismans function similarly to the scent-markers of foxes and [dogs], warning intruders away from the territory of the Large-Eyed Humans. Alternatively, the talismans may hold a sacred or taboo meaning to humans, thus accounting for their superstitious behavior.

The author’s mate holds a personal theory about the purpose of the talismans: he believes the humans placed the talismans for us, the Piping Plovers of Lakeshore Territory. He claims to be able to discern upon the talisman a black symbol representing a bird. He observes that the effects of the Human Magic have thus far benefited us and our young. They have protected us from predators; they have kept other humans away from our nest, making it easier for us to feed and watch our chicks. Why perform Magic with these specific effects, the author’s mate argues, if not to cause those effects on purpose? If humans are interested in our young-rearing activities, what does that signify for us, the Piping Plovers of Lakeshore Territory? What drew their attention to us, of all birds and beach-dwellers; for what arcane human purpose are they watching over us?

The author herself has her doubts about these radical lines of thought. She reminds the reader that premature attempts to guess the motives of humans have often proven incorrect. She cautions the reader to remain objective and wary, as is befitting of wild birds. A theory, however elegant, cannot be converted into knowledge without the collection of further evidence. As of the time of writing, the author cannot draw a definitive conclusion on the reason the humans performed the First and Second Magic Acts, nor the mechanism by which they did so. The Magic Acts remain in evidence at Lakeshore Territory, and we continue to study their construction and ongoing effects.

4. The leg-marks

We continued to observe the Large-Eyed Humans at the Territory throughout the warm season. Our offspring hatched and grew old enough to run. At that point, a group of Large-Eyed Humans “marked” the legs of the young. This behavior appeared at first to be predatory, but the young were released unharmed, each bearing the human “markings” which the author and her mate also possess from our own previous such encounters with humans. The well-known “marking” phenomenon has been described elsewhere (2) and appears to apply to multiple kindreds of birds. Some have referred to the markings as “bands,” as they bear a similarity to the bands or bars found on feather-patterns.

For what purpose the humans mark us we do not know. Why are plovers seized by humans only twice in a lifetime, always twice, while other birds are seized at random, caught in the human Invisible Magic which glimmers across thin air and brings the swiftest fliers low? What do the markings mean, the combinations of them, the different colors and symbols, the positioning high or low upon the leg? It is said that everything humans do must have a reason, just as everything plovers do has a reason, and the same for foxes, other birds, creatures of the water; though we should not assume their reason is like ours, still they must have their own methodology. The humans appear from nowhere, bringing with them their extraordinary Magic, and fundamentally alter the shape and function of our world. There is so much about them we have yet to understand; behaviors not yet mapped, large-scale phenomena unexplained, languages to be deciphered; the author finds joy in these beautiful open questions, which provide endless opportunities to study the fascinating creatures with whom we share our world.

(1) See “Preliminary Notes on a Bird’s Translations of Fox, Raccoon, and Human Tame Wolf Dialects in the Region of Lakeshore Territory Belonging to Piping Plovers.”

(2) See “First-claw description of an encounter with human displaying classic ‘leg-marking’ behavior, by a half-year-old female Piping Plover from Many Islands Territory.”