This unbelievable photo (I call The Guillotine) went slightly viral this summer. A lot of people thought it might be AI, or maybe a composite illustration. I get why, but it’s not! It’s real life. It is actually a still frame from oystercatcher 2B’s monitoring cam taken during the hatch.
Here’s the original video:
There are a actually a bunch of great, dramatic stills, like this one:
Or maybe this one…
Or how about this one?
But nothing beats The Guillotine! That perfect bugged-out eye of the brooding adult, covering the tiny, just-hatched chick, while the skimmer’s bill looks set to cut both of their heads clean off. It’s just too perfect.
This kerfuffle was instigated by the skimmer pair we’d later come to know: Ruffles & Polkadot. When this video was recorded, our now booming colony was only just beginning to be formed. Ruffles and Polkadot were leading the way. And, fun fact, they laid the first nest right under the fox hazing cameras, spotlights and flashers of oystercatcher nest 2B. That may be a key reason why they survived and how the colony managed to get started in the first place.
I was hesitant to share this photo and video when it first happened, for a few reasons. First, I didn’t want to get too excited about the skimmers as there was a very low probability they would be successful. And second, I didn’t want to start out announcing their historic return to Barnegat Light by showcasing them bullying the sweetest oystercatcher pair in the park!
The truth is, Ruffles and Polkadot and oystercatcher pair 2B generally lived side-by-side in peace, and probably each contributed to the success of the other. Their nests were super close to one another. It was just that, every once in a Strawberry Moon, someone would cross an imaginary line, get just a little too close, and things would turn rough for a bit. I’m sure the amped-up hormones of the hatch here didn’t help.
I hate to see our birds be their own worst enemies. But in the end, they both hatched successfully and are continuing to thrive in the park as of this afternoon, both racing their chicks towards fledge.
And just so you don’t think Ruffles & Polkadot are big bullies, look at them here, just a few days before The Guillotine, right after they laid the first egg. This is why we love skimmies.
OK, and maybe this too, because this is pretty wild:
I’m proud of all of our birds. The Clearcut is such an amazing world. Just don’t cut each others’ heads off, please. I’ve worked too hard for this.
Say something kind