Osprey papas and mommas screeched and swooped in the cobalt blue skies. Below them, a team of osprey monitors from the Allen’s Pond Wildlife Sanctuary was inspecting the contents of their nest and the parents weren’t happy about it. Holding a pole to ward off dive bombing parents intent on protecting the nests, Osprey Monitor Andrew DeLong and volunteer Alan Poole took turns climbing a ladder to count the number of eggs and chicks in 14 of the osprey platforms on islands and marshes on the East Branch of the Westport River.
The inspection was the second of a four part annual program that has tracked the osprey population since Gil and Jo Fernandez began rejuvenating the faltering local colony in the 1960s. The late legendary couple imported healthy eggs from Chesapeake Bay to replace the DDT weakened eggs produced by the local nesting birds. The osprey now flourish here.
During the cold, gray days of March, the first winged pairs arrived on the river from astonishingly distant winter habitats as far flung as Brazil. By April, monitors completed the first part of the program by determining exactly which of the 83 platforms on the East and West Branches of the river were occupied.
The Tuesday May 24th assessment was to determine how many pairs were incubating eggs. Most nests contained three warm, chestnut brown, speckled eggs. Scrawny, grayish brown one to three day old chicks with eyes closed and beaks open were noted in several nests.
“The osprey population here is the longest monitored bird population in the world,” Poole said as he, DeLong and navigator George Yeomans shuttled between islands and marshes in the flat-bottomed outboard borrowed from the Westport River Watershed Alliance.
Dr. Poole, editor of “Birds of North America Online” (bna.birds.cornell.edu) has been monitoring ospreys here while pursuing a doctorate in Woods Hole (Boston University Marine Program) in the late 1970s. He’s lived part-time in Dartmouth since the early 1990s.
“Osprey can recognize landmarks from here to Brazil. They even recognize boats they associate with nest visits and generally ignore other boats at a similar distance, “ Dr. Poole said. They get riled up when the monitor’s boat approaches the nest.
This reporter was startled to hear a swoosh of feathered wings distressingly close over his head as he busily lined up a photo of the monitors setting up a ladder to climb one of the platforms. Within minutes of shoving off from marshy shores, one or both parents alighted upon their nests to reconnect with their eggs.
This is Mr. DeLong’s fledgling year as an osprey monitor. As soon as he saw the part-time job posted on the internet, the Warwick, Rhode Island resident knew he wanted it. Next April, Mr. DeLong, a retired inner-city social worker in Providence for 25 years, and his wife will be off to Africa as Peace Corps volunteers.
“It’s been a pretty steep learning curve for the past two months,” he said as he and Mr. Poole compiled data. “ This is an excellent place to work. The community avidly supports the effort and they’re really knowledgeable.”
Through June, Allen’s Neck Wildlife Sanctuary monitors will continue slogging out to the islands and marshes to count how many eggs hatch. The final part of the program will count how many pairs successfully raise their fledglings.
“Success takes luck, skill, and a lot of fish,” said Dr. Poole.
I spent years sailing Downeast and there was no such thing as a navigational marker of height without an osprey nest on top. It was always such a joy to sail close enough to the nests to get a good look at what was inside...eggs or chicks...or at least, like in the case of this story, to hear the piercing squawking from above! Thank you for raising some wonderful memories for me, Paul. Nice story! Jan O'Keefe
Posted by: Jan O'Keefe | July 11, 2007 at 08:53 AM
Lovely!
here's a link to my Baylands' birds - favorites are the white pelicans (june-dec) and the ever-elusive night herons.If only a California freeway weren't nearby....
http://bayimages.net/california/palo-alto-baylands/index.2.html
Posted by: Debbie | July 12, 2007 at 12:54 PM