Today was pure magic in Plover Park, and all over Barnegat Bay actually. It will take a long time to get through all of the stories. The river is flowing too quickly. But here are two updates I’m getting asked about enough that I’ll post here:
Jimin
The winner of Plover Kart is (drumroll)… Jimin! Tonight at sundown, I saw the first fuzzy little turd of the season peak its head out of the nest bowl. The first Piping Plover chick hatched in the whole world, right in Barnegat Light by our very own Jimin & Maya.
But it’s not time to celebrate just yet. Tonight will be Jimin & Maya’s most difficult. They somehow managed to keep those eggs safe from the fox and the crows for 28 long days, with no exclosure fencing, while the other birds in their neighborhood barely lasted a few hours. The accomplishment was astonishing.
But those were eggs. These are chicks. Chicks run around. Chicks make noise. Tonight they will be stuck trying to protect the new chicks while still being pinned down to any remaining eggs to hatch. This is not going to be easy for them. There is no telling what tomorrow morning looks like.
As of sundown, Giantsnbane & JJL’s eggs have only just started to crack. Looks they they too got played by Jimin.
Ruth Langmore
Ruth Langmore & mate already lost their gorgeous new nest in the dune. Every trace of it, washed by the rain. Like a ghost, Like it was never there. A mystery. So Ruth Langmore.
But she already laid another already. I don’t think ten minutes elapsed between discovering her loss, and finding her next treasure.
Also so Ruth Langmore.
Best of luck tonight to these really special treasures of LBI, and beaches everywhere. But mostly LBI.
Readings From The Northside 