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| Autumn 2007 Pews Creek Osprey Nest Inspection On Saturday afternoon, Oct 20, 2007 Steve Taylor of Middletown Env Comm and I (Joe Martin, Friends of Pews Creek) inspected the Pews Creek Osprey nest. No bird sightings by Vic or myself in a couple of weeks so we assumed that the nest was vacated and safe for approach. As we approached a crow was seen on nest. An email message from Joe Martin:
On Saturday afternoon, Oct 20, 2007 Steve Taylor of Middletown Env. Comm. and I (Joe Martin, Friends of Pews Creek and Middletown Env. Comm.) inspected the Pews Creek Osprey nest.
No bird sightings by Vic of Port Monmouth or myself in a couple of weeks so we assumed that the nest was vacated and safe to approach.
As we approached, a crow was seen on the nest.
At the immediate area of the nest are piles of nest material (sticks, weeds, tangle of fishing line). We assume that the material on the ground were the walls of the nest forming the bowl as the nest is now almost flat. Did the birds wreck the nest as they left, or is this just lack of maintenance normal during vacancy.
The box is jam-packed with nest material including larger sticks, twigs, phrag-root bunches and some plastics. The material appears to be cemented together by the mud. We removed some plastic bags and a bit of plastic line but further removal would have been tough without breaking up matted material.
In the nest we saw at least one fish vertebrae, some scapula??, and mussel shells. Mussel shells and fish parts also found on saw grass at base of platform and at base of perch. I did not know shellfish was a part of diet but the ditches and creeks surrounding the platform are loaded with these shellfish.
Structurally the platform looks fine. Steve and I corrected a slight list by wedging wood at base, if this does not last we may want to brace pole.
Joe Martin
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Reply from Jon the Osprey Guy:
Great work, thanks! The mussels are almost surely from gulls using the nest as a dining platform after osprey vacated in early september. Even if they are still around, the nest becomes less critical once the young fledge and learn to feed on their own. Osprey don't build very well, they tend to just pile it all in once a base is established, and that mud that binds, may well be fish guts and excretory matter as much as mud, always wash up thoroughly after working in a nest. Don't worry about loss of material over the winter, they will rebuold as needed, and i feel less wet weight on top helps them last longer, i used to make the sides taller, but cut them back down to help reduce top heaviness.
Stay well, keep up the great work and reporting jon Pictures of the event from Joe Martin:
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