Press Release

Citizens United to Protect the Maurice River and Its Tributaries, Inc.

July 2008

For more information call Jane Morton Galetto at 609-774-5853

 

What has bright orange eyes and eats fish alive? Well, ospreys, of course. And goodness knows there are a lot of local ospreys this year squawking for food. Things are really noisy on the Maurice River as Citizens United to Protect the Maurice River and Its Tributaries, Inc. (CU) volunteers can attest, having just banded a record number of young - 74 chicks to be exact. In fact, with a six-foot wing span and devilish flying talents anyone near the Maurice would have a hard time not spying an osprey.

They have a white breast, dark back and a white head with a bandit stripe of black. The adults have yellow eyes and the juveniles have orange eyes. And they are capturing fish with great skill.

Osprey generally mate for life but they will choose a new partner if a mate perishes. They normally lay three eggs; four is rare. On average they raise 2.5 young each season. These birds don't seem to know when to stop building. It is not unusual to find a collection of odd objects in the nests.

The nesting pair on the Manumuskin takes the prize in this regard, having collected the following assemblage of items: a tire tread, roof shingles, plastic flower trays, cardboard, a dead crow and hoards of orange rope. The bird must get the orange rope from some place in Port Elizabeth. We would love to find out where because the rope has proved to be a health hazard. It would be great if the rope could be made inaccessible to the osprey, so anyone having any ideas about the source could contact us at 856-305-3238.

We are still experiencing serious problems with monofilament / errant fishing line. This year one chick was so badly entangled that had CU not inspected the nest and intervened, it would have perished. One talon was limp and useless. Fortunately a week after removing the line and a number of first aid trips later the bird seems in tip-top shape. Last year we found an adult hanging upside down from a stump entangled in fishing line. The nest failed because of the adult's untimely death.

Our most unusual nest this year was at Dorchester Shipyard, on top of a dredge on the back of a docked ship. Matt Thompson and Andy Castor warned me that the bird was absolutely frightfully protective. So I wore something I had never donned before ñ a hard hat. I felt a little foolish afterward when the bird never even got close to me. About two hours later I went to Willow Grove Lake to band three robust chicks. Ironically, I was hatless for a nest where I became convinced, for the first time in 23 years of banding osprey that the mother was going to do me in!

Permit me to provide a few interesting facts. Under the management of the New Jersey State Division of Fish and Wildlife, the NJ Endangered and Nongame Species Program monitors osprey populations statewide. Historically there were 500 nesting pair of osprey in NJ. In the 1950's and 1960's the use of DDT reduced their numbers to a mere 50 nesting pair. They were not productive, so chicks were brought in from nests in regions that had not been exposed to these chemical contaminants and the young were fostered by NJ's remaining pairs. The fledglings imprinted to the area and returned as adults to build their own nests along New Jersey's rivers and bays.

In the mid 1980's CU began an osprey colony. In 2007 the State passed the milestone of 400 nesting pair. Our volunteers monitor approximately 50 nesting platforms and they have constructed and erected more than 50 platforms for other organizations and corporations, including the NJ Endangered and Nongame Species Program, NJ Department of Protection Bureau of Emergency Response, Community Energy, PSE&G and The Natural Lands Trust. Our efforts have been responsible for providing structures for more than a quarter of the state's osprey population (and at one point, for a third of the existing structures). So when you see an osprey you can tip your hat to CU.

If you want to view ospreys from March through September you can see many fishing at the Union Lake spillway. Enjoy!