Islanders have so much to share and talk about these days — after all, with summer folks pouring off the extra ferry boats and weekend guests touching down on the runway, there’s a lot of unfamiliar amidst the familiar.

I feel sometimes like someone shook my “Etch A Sketch” vigorously. Like I have drawn this detailed map in my thoughts and memorized all the neighborhoods or ecosystems: tidal pools and beaches are community centers; even wrack lines are like little busy streets with the bustle of pipers, plovers and peeps. I’m not surprised I have become genuinely attached and concerned for my wildlife neighbors. Add to this a bit of rhythm: of tides, ferry schedules, noon whistles, summer store hours, what family is renting what house; I’m not surprised I am so grateful for local traditional knowledge either.

So when friend and neighbor Lisa Eiriksson shared that she had spotted a delicate and unbelievably discreet killdeer nest, I quickly hopped on my bicycle and rode across to South Beach.

There was mama killdeer (perhaps the same “pullover plover” I wrote about in an earlier note?) standing alert between rosehip bushes by the back pond there. I snuck up so I didn’t disturb her, happy I can now map out and post a few “tread lightly” signs here next year.

Justine Kibbe is a naturalist for the Fishers Island Conservancy. A lifelong environmentalist, Kibbe offers weekly wildlife snapshots from the island. She can be reached at bjkibbe@gmail.com.