Nigel the lovelorn gannet – and a story to melt a heart of stone
neStLIng alongside the mate he adored, nigel the gannet looked the picture of contentment. But sadly, there was to be no happy ending to this love story.
Despite building his beloved a nest out of sticks and showering her with attention for years, nigel’s love remained unrequited – because the object of his affection is a concrete replica, one of a flock of 80 fake birds planted high upon the cliffs of Mana Island in new Zealand in a desperate bid to attract a real colony. And now, in a heartbreaking twist, nigel’s body has been found lying dead beside his concrete mate in the home he made for them.
When nigel arrived on the windswept island in the tasman Sea in november 2015, he quickly became something of a local celebrity as the first gannet to roost there in more than 40 years.
twitchers watched with fascination as the ‘confused’ seabird became infatuated with one of the decoys. even last month, when three real gannets were finally lured to the island by a special sound system, faithful nigel shunned them. gannets often mate for life and can recognise the sound of their partners.
ranger Chris Bell, who found nigel dead last week, said he was ‘incredibly sad’ to lose him just as he had the opportunity to find a real mate to breed with. ‘this just feels like the wrong ending to the story,’ he said. ‘He died right at the beginning of something great.’ nigel’s body will be sent to new Zealand’s Massey University to determine how he died.