Jordan Lake. I found myself last night going through my photos of Big Pine Nest from this past spring. I came to this photo of the 2 chicks in the nest – it was my first sight of the chicks. I remembered saying to my friend as we gently rocked in his boat from a safe distance offshore, “oh how I pray that the gate out on the road stays closed so that the chicks can continue to thrive and soon fly”. His reply to me was “yes closed, until these babies go safely out into the world and then in about 6 months the parents will repair this nest of theirs and we will get to monitor an entire breeding season”. That conversation haunts me now. Near the end of May 2021, the gate was prematurely opened. In their panic at the sudden sight of people near the nest, the two chicks tried to fly away from the danger. One of those two chicks just barely managed to fledge from the nest and escape the intruders … the other chick disappeared. All of us are working so hard to give Loblolly and Pitch the peace they need to lay eggs this year and raise chicks that fledge safely. Please continue to share the information about the problem at the Big Pine Nest and to question those who can close the gate to the shelter about why the gate is still open. I am certain Loblolly and Pitch are sending you their thanks.