HomeMy WebLinkAboutMarch 24, 1977 - Ospreys ReturnMarch
24,
1977 focus on
nature by
Paul Stoutenburgh Ospreys Return On Sunday, March
20, Joyce and Orville Terry were erecting
a new nesting platform when they heard their
first osprey of the year. Both male
and female returned to
their nest Sunday morning. After probably
spending the winter in Florida, these great birds
move up the coast with the spring. Last
year they were first seen atop Roy Latham'
s water tower. This year another pair
visited Orville
Terry's farm first. Ospreys, who mate for
life, come back to the same nest each year.
Last year this pair had the best reproduction
of any osprey on the east end.
Four young were reared successfully but we may not
see any of these offspring for at least two
or three years. The young never snow
up the first year. This large brood
is the most encouraging sign with respect to the
future of our osprey population. We all
know the problem this bird has had
with its battle against pesticides and it now looks
as if that battle might be swinging in
the osprey's favor. Larger clutches and
thicker shells are good signs
that they are gaining. Orville Terry has
done much to en- courage these birds
by putting up solid nesting sites at both ends
of his farm. "Hard work but well worth
the effort," Orville said as we
watched the new arrivals. These special
nesting sites must be rugged to withstand
the huge heavy nests that are built on them.
Tin is usually put around the pole
to prevent raccoons from climbing up and
helping themselves to a dinner of eggs. All
these features must be built into the sites or
disaster could come at the critical times
of hatching and rearing. This, by the way, was one
of our big losses last year when the
hurricane struck as the birds were ready to
leave the nest. Many nests went down and so
the special help the ospreys get from people
like the late Elisha Haberman and now
Orville Terry and his wife is much appreciated
not only by the bird but by all of us
who enjoy the graceful and stately flight of the osprey. OSPREYS RETURN TO THE NORTH FORK ... Joyce
and Orville Terry of Orient were erecting a new nesting site on Sunday when
they heard their first osprey of the year rather than saw this onephotographedby