Nigel has “fallen in love” with a concrete bird and spends every day caring for it, loving it because this seagull is so lonely.
Nigel is a seagull that lives in New Zealand waters. Over the years, Nigel has been called by a not so cheerful name: the loneliest bird in the world.
In 2015, Nigel was invited by humans to Mana Island. At the time, the regional government had an ambition to re-attract the seagulls to New Zealand. The sea eagle is the largest seabird in the North Atlantic, with a wingspan of up to 2 meters. It can be found in the southern hemisphere but is extremely rare. To lure the seagulls to New Zealand to live, people have placed bait with realistic concrete birds on the cliffs and fitted with speakers that emit the sound of their calls.
Nigel accepted, arriving in New Zealand in 2015 as the island’s first osprey in 40 years. But none of Nigel’s brothers joined it.
As the years passed, Nigel remained alone on the island, along with 80 fake birds. It is forever unable to find any of its true brethren once trapped here. It is also possible that Nigel himself chose to stay in New Zealand without taking off and flying home.
Nigel fell in love with one of the 80 fake birds. It even built a nest for its lover. People recorded thousands of moments when “the loneliest bird in the world” graciously groomed her cold concrete plumage. Nigel communicates, interacts with the concrete bird as if it really believes it is a flesh-and-blood seagull, has feelings and is also reciprocating its feelings.
One day in February 2018, Nigel – the loneliest bird in the world died. It died right next to the concrete bird in that nest of unrequited love. It left when thousands of kilometers from home. The brilliant orange-yellow fur on Nigel’s head still glittered in the sunlight of the sea and islands.
“Whether he felt really lonely or not, Nigel certainly never came home, and it must have been a very strange experience. I think we all have a lot of sympathy for him, because he’s been in this rather hopeless situation,” said conservation ranger Chris Bell, who also lives on the island.
When the story of a lonely sea eagle persisting with his futile love was published in the press, Nigel accumulated a certain number of fans. Mana is a New Zealand science reserve. Thanks to Nigel, this place has attracted many visitors. People want to come here to visit Nigel, to be with him for a while.
In fact, over the years, another seagull has come to Nigel. It’s name is Norman, but it’s also male, so it can’t be paired with Nigel. Norman stopped by Mana Island briefly in 2017 and then flew north again.
Perhaps the saddest part of this story is that shortly after Nigel’s death, three other buzzards settled in Mana, after conservation officials tweaked the sound system used to attract them. .
“This looks like a false ending to the story. Nigel died just before the miracle happened,” Bell said.
But Nigel, nicknamed “the lonely bird without a mate” will forever be remembered as a pioneer figure and signaled to the new trio that Mana was the right habitat.
