March 19, 2023
Osprey are seasonal visitors to Oregon, arriving here mid-March to breed and nest and raise their young. Come September they head back to Southern California, Mexico, and Central America. I got hooked on paying attention to their comings and goings 10 years ago while volunteering at Salem Audubon Nature Reserve in West Salem. Another volunteer, and personal friend of mine, John West, noticed that an Osprey nest on Murlark Ave had Osprey before the Reserve. I started paying closer attention and documenting with photographs, and the Murlark site always has the first birds. I've added more nests to track through the years, and now monitor over 10 nest sites in Polk County, 6 of which are located in West Salem. My wife and I start making the rounds of the nesting sites mid-March checking for Osprey. On Sunday March 19th, we checked the Murlark site, normally the first nest to be occupied, but no Osprey. Next we checked the nest on Bartell Dr., we had our first Osprey of the year the female in the above photo. Checking the records in eBird, I found that the first bird there last year was the female in the photo below. I believe because of the markings, that it is the same bird, which unfortunately was unable to attract a male last year. We will be keeping close watch this year hoping for many successful nests.
March 20, 2022
No comments:
Post a Comment