CAUTION: Osprey Construction Zone
Ospreys Love Westport! And Westport Loves Our Ospreys!
Photos and Story By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
The Osprey platform located in the parking lot of Fresh Market next to Terrain on the Post Rd. has had a nesting pair for many years. This year is no exception and the pair was preparing the "nursery" last month. Osprey generally return to the same nest each year with the male arriving in March to begin rebuilding the nest from the prior year with the female to follow.
Ospreys migrate south for the winter to find ice-free water and abundant fish. Depending on where they breed, North American ospreys travel thousands of miles to warmer climates in Central America, the Caribbean, and South America (as far south as Brazil and Argentina), while some western populations overwinter in Mexico.
Coming in for a landing at the Terrain platform, this beauty displays the 5’ to 6’ wingspan which makes it so striking.
The Terrain Osprey as they are commonly referred to are a fixture in town with many admirers among both Terrain customers and staff who enjoy seeing these magnificent raptors and love to watch as they bring fish to feed their hungry hatchlings which should soon be visible if past years are any indication.
When we took these photos the male was delivering construction materials to his mate which will do the actual construction. They work together, each with its own role in the process.
The Male's Role: The male is the gatherer. He collects almost all of the nesting materials, which include sticks, sod, vines, and algae. He will break dead branches off trees while flying or snatch them up from the ground.
The Female's Role: The female is the architect. She takes all the materials the male brings back and arranges, shapes, and distributes them into a sturdy, bowl-shaped structure.
Photos and Story By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
In past years, Westport utility crews have had to carefully relocate nests from active power lines to safer platforms to prevent outages and protect the birds. This platform was erected several years ago when crew discover Osprey were building a nest on a utility pole across the Post Rd.
Across Connecticut, the osprey population has seen a massive rebound, growing from just nine active nests in 1974 to over 726 recently. Westport currently hosts roughly 20 active nests monitored by citizen scientists through The Osprey Nation Project. This CT Audubon site has great info and photos on these spectacular raptors.
The Interactive Nest Map on the site shows the locations of nests and reports by volunteers who monitor them.
Fishing the Saugatuck at low tide. This pair might be from the Terrain nest before the female laid her eggs.
This platform near Lot F at Longshore park also has a nesting pair. Below, the male surveys Grey’s creek from a tall tree on the golf course.
CT Audubon, thanks to donations, has installed an Osprey Cam at their Connecticut Audubon Society Coastal Center at Milford Point.
This live camera shows the Osprey family live, 24/7. It is well worth the visit and with a little luck you may see the male bring his family a fresh fish