Bird Magic: Wisdom of the Ancient Goddess for Pagans & Wiccans - Sandra Kynes 2016

Sandpiper and Plover: Least Sandpiper, Spotted Sandpiper, Killdeer
The Profiles

Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla)

Busy little shorebirds tend to congregate together and are notoriously difficult to identify. As a result, when you see a group of sandpipers, you may also be watching plovers. These birds are similar in appearance—tan on top and light underneath. The easiest clue is that sandpipers have long, thin bills and smallish eyes, and plovers have short bills and large eyes. While plovers are shore birds, they also search for food in open meadows.

The spotted sandpiper is, well, spotted, making it easy to identify in a mixed group of birds, but only during the mating season. However, it has a distinctive teeter when it walks, bobbing its tail up and down. Small sandpipers are known as peeps and the least sandpiper is the smallest of the small. The killdeer plover is easy to identify because of the two dark bands across its breast.

Although these birds are related to the legendary lapwing (Vanellus vanellus), the plover is a closer cousin than the sandpiper. The lapwing’s association with magic has carried over to its American cousins. According to Danish folklore, the souls of old maids turned into lapwings and the souls of bachelors into sandpipers.

Sandpipers were named pipers for their piping call when danger is sensed. The name plover comes from the Latin pluvia, meaning “rain.” ¹⁴¹ Plovers were looked to for weather divination, and in Germany they were called rain pipers. The plover family, Charadriidae, was named for a mythical medieval bird that was said to have the power to discern if a sick person would live or die.

The killdeer was named for the sound it makes, which can be fairly loud. This bird calls when circling in the air and is often heard after dark. In folklore, the cry of the killdeer was said to call up the wind, and several flying overhead singing was a sign of strong wind. Other weather lore says that there is usually one more late-winter storm after the killdeer returns for the season. It was also believed that if you robbed a killdeer’s nest and ate the eggs, you would break your arm.

Magical Workings

Sandpiper and plover are liminal birds, spending most of their time at the water’s edge, a place that passes back and forth between water and land. Call on these birds to aid you in reaching that in-between state of being during rituals or spellwork. Associated with abundance, sandpiper can help draw prosperity and close relationships into your life. Plover is a bird of guidance that can aid in any type of travel as well as divination.

Make Connection

Place a picture of a sandpiper or a plover on your altar. Gaze at it for a few moments as you fix the image in your mind. Close your eyes and whisper three times: “Betwixt and between, so much more can be seen. On shore or field, knowledge reveal.” Continue to hold the image in your mind, and when you are able to visualize a group of sandpipers and/or plovers darting around your feet, you will be ready to work with them.

Associations

Element(s): Earth, water

Bird Identification

Sandpipers

Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla)

Size: 5 to 6 inches

Wingspan: 10 to 11 inches

Comparative size: Sparrow

Description: Round body; short, pointed wings; black bill; brown upperparts; white underparts; yellow-green legs; whitish rump visible in flight

Range: Throughout Alaska, most of Canada, the United States, Mexico, and Central America as well as parts of South America

Habitat: Mudflats of beaches and estuaries

Eggs: Pale yellowish-brown, with brown spots or blotches

Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius)

Size: 7 to 8 inches

Wingspan: 14 to 16 inches

Comparative size: Sparrow to robin

Description: Body tapers to a long tail; white, rounded breast; grayish-brown back; pale yellow bill; has the appearance of leaning forward; in breeding season, dark spots on breast; orange bill; dark brown back; in flight a thin, white stripe along wing can be seen

Range: Throughout most of Alaska and Canada, all of the United States and Mexico, and most of South America

Habitat: Stream banks, rivers, ponds, lakes, and beaches

Eggs: Off-white, pinkish, or pale green speckled with brown

Plover

Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)

Size: 8 to 11 inches

Wingspan: 18 to 19 inches

Comparative size: Robin

Description: Slender and lanky body; long, pointed tail; long wings; large, round head; large eyes; short bill; brownish-tan upperparts; white underparts; two black breast bands; brown face with black and white patches; orange-buff rump

Range: From British Columbia east to southern Quebec and the Maritimes, throughout the United States, Mexico, and Central America

Habitat: Sandbars, mudflats, pastures, fields, lawns, golf courses, and parking lots

Eggs: Buff-colored and heavily marked with blackish-brown

Collective noun(s): A congregation or a trip of plovers

141. Wells, 100 Birds and How They Got Their Names, 196.