Osprey Tales and Troubles

I fell in love with Stanley and Iris a few years ago. It was my first experience with ospreys, albeit via webcam (Montana Osprey Cams, Hellgate Nest) but I was smitten from the beginning. I don’t remember now who introduced me to this pair,  but I do know that no one warned me that even on webcam, they have discernible and fabulous personalities so becoming attached to them is pretty much unavoidable! I understand the arrangement of the food chain, but my aversion to the seeing birds of prey grab beautiful songbirds has historically prevented my love of birds from extending very far into the raptor community. But Iris and Stanley have softened me toward the birds of prey- I have learned not to discriminate.

After a long migration during which they may have flown over a hundred miles a day, ospreys arrive at their nest in early spring, the female of this pair (Iris) usually arriving first by a week or more. While waiting on Stanley to arrive, she starts building a nest on the platform to which she has returned for many consecutive years now.

I once spent almost an entire day intermittently watching the nest in angst because Stanley, a prodigious and reliable fisher for Iris and the family of chicks (named Squish, Hook, and Crown Royal by webcam watchers that year) had “gone missing.”  On the day in question, the youngest, weakest chick (the underdog and therefore my automatic favorite) started to look weak, struggling to hold his head up, because he hadn’t eaten. Panic set in for fear that not only had something devastating happened to the beloved Stanley, but that this poor chick was about to die a slow, miserable death while we helplessly watched.  As it turned out, Stanley was seen by locals (as I recall- some details are sketchy in my mind at this point) fighting off eagles in the area who commonly attack ospreys for their fish.  But Stanley, like a hero in an epic drama, ultimately prevailed and returned to the nest, fish in talons, later that night. Squish and the other chicks thrived throughout the summer and eventually all successfully fledged.  I embraced the relief of a happy ending that year.

There are other dangers lurking in the osprey world, however, that in no way end happily ever after. People familiar with them often know about the natural and eternal conflict between ospreys and eagles. A man-made threat, baling twine, exists -though less well known and far more subtle- with the potential to cause as much or more harm than “eagle wars”.

Warning: Graphic Images showing dead and injured ospreys and wildlife.

The agricultural community, although not to blame, needs to be made more aware of this issue. Here are some ideas for tackling this devastating problem:

In the end, pondering the wisdom of Dr. Seuss may ultimately lead us to our best solutions- “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”