In the end, it is the small things that matter the most.
Patrick White, The Tree Of Man
Who would have thought that Man’s little personal ad would actually work? But it did, and now he’s found love in Barnegat Light.
But that’s not all. Look what these new lovebirds have done.
She laid her first egg in one of the most exquisite nests ever created. The sheer creativity and attention to detail in this nest, adorned with all sorts of doo-dads and meticulously landscaped, is truly a sight to behold. It’s so adorable that we can’t help but forgive them for the early morning panic they caused by laying it outside their fence.
It might look like the scrape is filled with debris, but in Man’s eyes, it’s their “duvet.” And sure, it might look like they chose to nest under some old stick, but to Man, it’s “The Tree of Man.”
She’s one lucky little lady.
Or is she?
Unfortunately, Man has chosen to violate the treaty he already made with his arch-nemesis and half-brother Jimin. This nest is more than uncomfortably close to the territory of Myrtle & Jimin; it’s in the territory of Myrtle and Jimin.
Unbeknownst to her, but well understood by Plover Park alumni Myrtle, Jimin, and Man, there is an ancient tradition in Barnegat Light. It’s probably as old as the Lighthouse itself, and it might just come into play in this story.
Chick-napping. Stay tuned.
Souls unite in the face of violence, if only on the common ground of frailty.
Patrick White, The Tree Of Man
Side note: Special thanks to Scott McConnell who is working as an endangered species consultant for the ongoing beach replenishment project in Harvey Cedars. He just happened to be out early Saturday morning surveying the birds for the project when Man’s nest was found, and was happy to pitch in and help build an emergency fence for Man until NJWF could get there. It’s so nice to know that we’ve evolved enough that even a massive project like the replenishment will make the effort to have an expert like Scott assessing the risks to and impact on wildlife. So much of it boils down to, “we are OK here, and we should use more caution over there.”
If we all lived our lives that way down the shore, there would be a lot less animal suffering. Scott’s presence was an astounding stroke of luck for Man, but what really made the difference was his compassion. Scott’s officially a Knife Hero!
What is the use of the world if you cannot share it?
Patrick White, The Tree Of Man
Just wondering…how big exactly is a plover’s territory? I have seen nests so incredibly close. Much closer than I think they should be!
ha, there is no perfect answer for that. it depends entirely on the plovers, and the habitat. it’s the size that the stronger of the two wants it to be?
in this case, jimin was clearly pushing man back to a certain point this spring, and would become obsessively aggressive past a certain line. but things got crazy, jimin had bigger issues, and man sneaky nutzed himself back into territory jimin was vigorously defending.
this won’t be their first battle and probably won’t be their last. but once those chicks are out things will surely get ugly if they both refuse to budge! forecast calls for DRAMA
and by reasonable measure, they aren’t even that close and they have a nice small hill affording some privacy. Jimin is just kind of a jerk about his space. so was his dad, who would chicknap the babies of anyone who stood in his way of going where he wanted to go.
Wow, definite drama. Good luck!
That is an outstanding nest, by the way. Quite envious. Hope it is successful! 🤞