Out of all the incredible memories I have from a decade of chasing Jo Durt, the most thrilling and heart-stopping one didn’t even happen outdoors.
It occurred at my computer while eating lunch and racing to finish a post I called “Perhaps The Greatest Reading of All Time” before I had to return to work.
It was the moment I zoomed in on this photo and noticed something was off:
That’s when I spit out my sandwich. I had just discovered that my sweet Jo Durt was the one causing so much trouble for everyone by nesting under the Causeway Bridge.
While Jo Durt was spending her teenage years on the Surf City water tower, a female falcon from Maryland named Billie was making a half-hearted but first-known attempt at nesting under the Causeway Bridge. It was a horrible mess. The eggs would roll right off the pier. Ben rushed to build a small platform, but even though that helped the eggs hatch, we soon discovered that the bridge was just too low, and the young fledglings drowned on their first attempts at flight.
By 2017, the final straw was that the estimated fledge date of the nest occurred precisely when bridge construction would be happening right above the nest. This was not only dangerous for the babies but could also kill the defending adults. A species can lose a lot of babies and still move forward. But once you start losing productive adults, you’ve got a severe problem.
So Kathy and Ben rode up on a cherry picker parked on a barge to pull the eggs and end the nest.
Billie had been seen around the nest that spring, so we all assumed the eggs were hers. Fortunately, I had plenty of time sitting on the barge waiting for Kathy & Ben to come down to take pictures of the vicious adult falcon who, despite the incredibly cramped and dangerous attack zone under the bridge, did everything she could to protect her eggs. I could see she had a band, but I couldn’t read it until I got home. I’m so lucky I got that one clear shot of it. And I’m so thankful I took the time to zoom in.
I absolutely could not believe it was my Jo Durt. I will never forget that moment.
It, indeed, was a moment of destiny. For both of us.
Due to the problems under the bridge, plans were already being made to construct the BOIS Falcon Tower on Bonnet Island to help draw the falcons away.
Jo Durt was now set to become the matriarch of this new tower, securing her place as a legend in the island’s natural history.
But there was a touch of sadness, or maybe concern, seeing Jo Durt achieve this milestone. She probably killed Billie for control of that bridge. She didn’t have much to lose on the water tower. But now? She was a queen, and young females everywhere would be waiting for their chance to take the throne from her.
Every spring since, as I first approach the tower to check for eggs, I reminded myself that no queen can rule forever. And just pray it’s still her.
