Plovers get dragged into rat hole
There's really no comparison to celebrated sidewalk feature.
What made the story of Monty and Rose great was its authenticity. Piping Plovers returning to nest on Chicago shores after a 71-year absence was an incredible thing. It was a joy to watch and an opportunity to educate birders and non-birders alike about a fairly obscure species.
I like to think that was at the core of the interest in our beloved shorebirds, who were with us during the summers of 2019, 2020, and 2021. Sure, at the margins, there were casual observers who knew of the Monty and Rose phenomenon but maybe didn’t realize it was an incredible story of survival—and a key moment in our recent natural history.
Absurd is not a word that comes to mind when thinking of all the things one can say about the three summers of Monty and Rose. However, the indomitable pair has begun to get lumped in with other natural phenomena that make for better social media memes than actual stories. It’s an unfortunate trend.
That was the case recently when Axios included the plovers in Chicago’s viral “Hall of Fame” that included the most recent tumult around the Chicago rat hole. In case you missed it, I’m referring to a rat-shaped pothole in the pavement of a North Side sidewalk. An image of the rodentine impression went viral in early January.
I balk at Axios’ comparison, even if my documentary about the birds is mentioned in the article. Monty and Rose were birds whose legacy is with us today. I suppose the unfortunate rat is, too, though its impression won’t do anything other than provide a few laughs. Monty and Rose were a pair of extremely rare birds doing something exceptional. They legitimately were a sensation—for ornithology and for the city’s natural history. They made history.
All this reminds me that there are still many birding stories to be told and many people to be educated about the joy of the natural world. It’s not just Piping Plovers, it’s everything about nature that needs to reach a broader public. “Going viral” just isn’t enough when people remain so removed from our native flora and fauna. The real stories about species don’t need to be viral at all, for many are so astounding that they are much more than curiosities.