In what seems to us an unusually early appearance, AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVERS were present today in Cameron County in a sod field on the west side of Weaver Road (between Jimenez Road and FM-800). Several of the fields there do not presently have grass growing in them, but those that do today hosted 13 of that species. Facing off one of the most frightfully strong, steady, northwest winds we remember having encountered on our birding trips, these plovers foraged, gradually progressing northward in the field, via the typical plover run-stop-run manner. That made them easy to spot initially. At one point something unseen by us put them briefly to flight, and the grace of flight of these handsome plovers with long, pointed wings was joy to behold. We first saw them around noon today and wanted to study them with our scope, not just with our binoculars. Alas, the horrendously strong northwest wind made us apprehensive about opening our rental sedan's trunk lid to extract the scope for fear that the lid's attachment might be compromised by the force of the wind--no kidding! We therefore counted these plover's using our binoculars and found 10 during our morning visit to the field. After interim birding at a pond (resaca?) along Rangerville Road (FM-1479) and at the Wildlife Management Area on Jimenez Road north of FM-1479--some nice birds, but nothing of special note at those sites--we noticed that the wind had abated just a bit and returned to the Weaver Road site of the plovers, this time arriving from the south such that the still-fierce north wind would pose no threat to the trunk lid during scope retrieval. Having retrieved our scope, we set it up south of the vehicle, which now largely blocked the wind, thereby stabilizing the tripod and allowing views at high magnification. In that way we enjoyed close-up, deeply rewarding, views of these elegant migrants. The wind, even then, was so strong that these birds, which typically run with their heads lifted high on their graceful, long necks, were forced to pull in their necks to stabilize them in the fierce head-on wind. As birders seek the "grasspipers" at this season, they will want to bear in mind the following considerations: Grasspipers, such as American Golden-Plover, Buff-breasted Sandpiper, and Upland Sandpiper, are diminishing and seriously threatened species. At this time of migration through our area and through areas much farther to our north these species presently are and likely will continue to be facing circumstances of extreme and prolonged drought that has greatly reduced the availability of food and water. Actions that would stress such species while they attempt to find food, water, and/or rest could constitute a very serious threat to their lives and thus combine with other, multiple circumstances that already threaten their continued existence. The aforementioned problems related to obtaining wood, water, and rest presently are compounded in the Lower Rio Grande Valley by the rapid disappearance of the sod fields which would seem to provide these species' best opportunities for obtaining what they need for migration and even for staying alive. The La Feria sod fields, in accord with what someone recently posted to TEXBIRDS, now are being plowed into furrows, which would seem to indicate that they now will be used for other purposes than producing sod. In Hidalgo County today, we passed by the Progreso sod fields but did not explore their dirt access road, thanks to driving a low-slung rental sedan, but the state of the fields there did not seem encouraging relative to the hope of adequately supplying the needs of the grasspiper species that will be moving through this area. We soon will further check out the Progreso sod field area, and when we do, we hope to report here on what we find. There are other examples, in this area, of the same thing happening. Birders who wish to see these beautiful long-range migrants can help to ensure that their visit(s) do nothing to disturb these migrants and/or reduce their chances of finding and using the drastically reduced vital resources presently available. A little thoughtfulness at the time of visitation can ensure that one's visit in no way provides duress and thereby a threat to the individuals whom they are fortunate enough to be able to see and enjoy. By bearing in mind such considerations, we can do our part to ensure that these long-distance migrants will find what they need to continue their migration and, ultimately, be ready to reproduce their own kind. Rex and Birgit Stanford McAllen, TX Edit your Freelists account settings for TEXBIRDS at //www.freelists.org/list/texbirds Reposting of traffic from TEXBIRDS is prohibited without seeking permission from the List Owner