Even birds get drained.
After an extended darkish flight over Lake Michigan — most songbirds migrate at night time — they’re able to flop down on the primary stable floor they see.
”The solar comes up, and they’ll instantly search for the closest place to land the place they will discover shelter, and within the Chicago space that place is Montrose,” mentioned Greg Neise of the American Birding Association.
Montrose juts out, a half-mile lengthy welcome mat providing a smorgasbord of habitats for 300 sorts of birds: bushes for warblers and thrushes, grassland for bobolink and meadowlarks, and naturally seaside, the place endangered piping plovers scoop out tiny nests within the sand and lay their brown-speckled eggs.
I admit, when the piping plover saga erupted, I didn’t rush to the ramparts. For these late to the celebration, JAM is transferring its “Mamby on the Beach” music pageant to Montrose, elevating considerations about trampled plover nests.
I like birds, however I’m not fanatical about it. There are a variety of plovers, and if the piping plover goes down, effectively, the Wilson’s plover will do.
This callousness vaporized after my buddy Tony Fitzpatrick received me on the cellphone. You know Tony — artist, actor, author, basic Chicago renaissance man.
And fowl lover.
”This is sacred area,” he mentioned. “I can’t understand why the city isn’t enforcing the protection of a bird sanctuary.”
Fitzpatrick’s ire centered on JAM chief Jerry Mickelson, whose vows to re-locate the August pageant are met with skepticism.
”He’s contributing to the destruction of a species,” Fitzpatrick mentioned. “This is small thing, and he’s not going to lose a dime if he moves it. I’m asking Jerry as a good corporate citizen to do the right thing.”
What amazes me is, Mickelson is a collector of Fitzpatrick’s work. It’s one factor to take a stand. Another to slap the hand that feeds you.
”Yeah, Jerry’s purchased my work,” mentioned Fitzpatrick. “I take no joy in this. But I’m on a mission here.”
Time to sound out the person who co-founded JAM Productions in 1972.
”We wish to be certain the birds are secure,” Mickelson mentioned. noting that he’s met with involved environmentalists.
”I went into the den of the lion, attempting to resolve their points,” he mentioned. “Most of them weren’t even relevant. I answered and responded to every one.”
Mickelson mentioned the fitting phrases, however his endurance solely goes up to now.
”The plovers I completely get,” he mentioned. “There is always some butterfly, some worm that is going to go extinct. Where does it stop?”
Where it stops is town. The Chicago Park District is attempting to arbitrate and is “optimistic” about discovering an answer.
“We are currently working with Mamby Festival organizers to bring the concert site inland to a location that is not invasive to the piping plover’s nesting,” it mentioned in a press release. “The District remains committed to managing parkland fairly for all users.”
That sounds good; we’ll see the way it works out in actuality.
Correction
On Friday, as a consequence of a manufacturing error, my column created the impression amongst some readers that I don’t totally acknowledge the superlative greatness of the Rolling Stones.
This was a mistake or, in my spouse’s phrases, “way wrong.”
Being method mistaken was not my intention. The manufacturing error consisted of ill-considered motion of my fingers upon a keyboard resulting in casually-chosen phrases that I didn’t notice would alienate my spouse, buddies, readers — almost everyone I do know.
I used to be additionally mistaken to recommend the Stones are a blues band.
”The Stones are a rock financial institution with blues roots,” she mentioned.
I used to be additionally mistaken to recommend their music is “unimportant.”
”They have been vital then, and so they’re vital now,” she mentioned, including that whereas the time period “unimportant” would possibly apply to washed-up nostalgia acts similar to Bruce Springsteen or Madonna, the Stones occupy a timeless empyrean of significance all to themselves, and it’s merely unhappy that an in any other case perceptive man who’s…