This photo was from a sweet evening when I sat during the hatch with Queen Charlotte and baby Chunks in early summer, 2025.
I posted a video recently of Queen Charlotte’s new babies going rogue. If you look closely, you might notice that Queen Charlotte nested under the exact same bit of vegetation this year as she did last year. It’s a little worse for wear this season, but it’s exactly the same spot. They call that site fidelity.
Chunks is all grown up now. Like many of the healthy babies raised in the paradise that is Plover Park, he survived.
But tonight, as an adult and a first-time dad, he’s found himself in a heap of trouble and is about to have one hell of night, literally.
I’m so proud right now of everyone who works so hard for these birds. I’m mostly proud that we have the courage to face the fact that we can’t do everything, all the time. Sometimes the forces against you conspire to such an extent that it becomes a clear that a destiny is unfolding, and its not yours. Sometimes, the right course of action is, simply, accepting that.
Godspeed Chunks. Tonight you will become either history, or legend.
I love you just the same, either way.
Say something kind