Nigel the world's loneliest bird dies next to the concrete decoy he loved
Nigel You
The bird was lured to Mana Island five years ago by wildlife officials who  in hopes of establishing a gannet colony there  had placed concrete gannet decoys on cliffsides and broadcast the sound of the species' calls.  Nigel  accepted the invitation  arriving in 2013 as the island's first gannet in 40 years. But none of  his  brethren joined  him .
In the absence of a living love interest   Nigel  became enamored with one of the 80 faux birds.  He  built her - it? - a nest.  He  groomed her "chilly  concrete feathers . . . year after year after year " the Guardian reported.  He  died next to her in that unrequited love nest  the vibrant orange-yellow plumage of  his  head contrasting  as ever  with the weathered  lemony paint of hers.
"Whether or not  he  was lonely   he  certainly never got anything back  and that must have been [a] very strange experience " conservation ranger Chris Bell  who also lives on the island  told the paper. "I think we all have a lot of empathy for  him   because  he  had this fairly hopeless situation."
As  he  persisted in this futile courtship   Nigel  accrued something of a fan base. Mana is a scientific reserve that  like other New Zealand islands  has been the focus of replanting and rodent eradication efforts. Friends of Mana Island  one of the groups that has planted trees and shrubs  said on Facebook that  Nigel  "won the hearts" of members and volunteers who "spent many hours over the years maintaining the concrete colony."
The bird was lured to Mana Island five years ago by wildlife officials who  in hopes of establishing a gannet colony there  had placed concrete gannet decoys on cliffsides and broadcast the sound of the species' calls.  Nigel  accepted the invitation  arriving in 2013 as the island's first gannet in 40 years. But none of  his  brethren joined  him .
In the absence of a living love interest   Nigel  became enamored with one of the 80 faux birds.  He  built her - it? - a nest.  He  groomed her "chilly  concrete feathers . . . year after year after year " the Guardian reported.  He  died next to her in that unrequited love nest  the vibrant orange-yellow plumage of  his  head contrasting  as ever  with the weathered  lemony paint of hers.
"Whether or not  he  was lonely   he  certainly never got anything back  and that must have been [a] very strange experience " conservation ranger Chris Bell  who also lives on the island  told the paper. "I think we all have a lot of empathy for  him   because  he  had this fairly hopeless situation."
As  he  persisted in this futile courtship   Nigel  accrued something of a fan base. Mana is a scientific reserve that  like other New Zealand islands  has been the focus of replanting and rodent eradication efforts. Friends of Mana Island  one of the groups that has planted trees and shrubs  said on Facebook that  Nigel  "won the hearts" of members and volunteers who "spent many hours over the years maintaining the concrete colony."