Osprey

This week I signed up for Osprey-Watch. This is a new project that is sponsored by Center for Conservation Biology that is looking to collect information about nesting osprey around the world. They hope to use this information to address three current issue facing aquatic ecosystems, global climate change, depletion of fish stocks and environmental contamination's. The osprey is a good subject for studying these three issues because they are at the top of the food chain in many aquatic environments and can be found all around the world, with nesting occurring in the northern hemisphere and many osprey wintering in the southern hemisphere.
Back in 2010 I helped watch nests around the Twin Cities with the Metro Osprey Watch Project. This was a small group of people, I think about 3 or 4, that we watching osprey nests here in the Twin Cities. That summer I ended up watching about a dozen nests. It was a cool experience but it took up so much time that I was not able to get out and photograph many of the other things that I wanted to. Last year I tried to help out but I just did not have the time. So when I signed up at Osprey-Watch I only registered two of the nests that I had watched in the past. One is from a pair that has nested in a ball field that is close to work, the top photo is one of the adults from that nest. Since it is so close it shouldn't be to hard to run out and check on them at lunch or after work. The second nest is not close or convenient but it is one of the best nests in the Twin Cities to photograph. It is located in a nature center and there is a blind located just south of the nest. The photograph above was taken at the second nest. With only two nests to watch I can help out with some important citizen science, get to watch and photograph some real cool raptors, and still have time to get out and do other stuff so it looks like it is going to be a fun summer.