Fairhope, Alabama
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| Orange Beach's Osprey Project Nest. |
AT FLY CREEK BEACH PARK
If the city council gives its blessing, an osprey nest similar to one on Wolf Bay near Orange Beach (pictured above) could be installed at the end of Sea Cliff Drive.
The Alabama Coastal Foundation (click) is donating materials; recreation committee member Jim Hoerner has offered to build the nest platform itself, to be erected on a 60' pole by the city's electric department.
According to their website: "As one can infer from looking at the Alabama Coastal Foundation logo, we appreciate and help promote the osprey species. Since our inception, ACF has successfully worked with our partners to organize and install over 35 osprey nesting platforms throughout coastal Alabama. Osprey platforms are aptly named - they provide platformed nesting locations for ospreys in areas where their natural habitat is otherwise at risk."
A grant may be available to purchase webcamera equipment for student/classroom education purposes, according to mayor Sullivan.
Osprey: Unique among North American raptors for its diet of live fish and
ability to dive into water to catch them, Ospreys are common sights
soaring over shorelines, patrolling waterways, and standing on their
huge stick nests, white heads gleaming. These large, rangy hawks do well
around humans and have rebounded in numbers following the ban on the
pesticide DDT. Hunting Ospreys are a picture of concentration, diving
with feet outstretched and yellow eyes sighting straight along their
talons.
(Link to live osprey cam at Orange Beach ... click.)
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| Proposed location. |
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| Nest platform example. |
Comments
Perhaps, we should stop deliberately interfering with nature by imagining and implementing solutions without a problem. We do enough harm unintentionally.
Yup. The birds have instincts to build nests in viable territories. Do no harm, but otherwise leave them to nature.
As a bonus, if the birds do build a nest on their own, we will not have an ugly pole to maintain on the shoreline.