There are now three more Osprey nesting platforms around Chautauqua Lake!
On Friday, April 26th, new platforms were installed at Camp Onyahsa, at Chautauqua Club Golf (near hole 14 on the lake course), and at University Beach at Chautauqua Institution.
Our director of conservation, Twan Leenders, was helped by the owners of Gunn 'n Earley Tree Service and Mike Catanese of ArborWild Environmental with these installations. This amazing crew was able to get all three poles and platforms in place in less than six hours! Talk about efficiency!
The platforms were made possible by generous donations from Roger Tory Peterson Institute and supporters of the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy and the Chautauqua Bird, Tree & Garden Club. The poles were a gift from the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities. On behalf of the lucky Osprey who will call these new nesting platforms home, we extend a huge thank you to everyone who supported and helped with this project!
We have seen an influx of Ospreys to our area lately, most likely the offspring of our pair at the Loomis Goose Creek nest as well as other nests from our area. Osprey prefer to nest up high and near open water since most of their diet consists of fish. (This is also where they get the nickname of ‘fish hawk.”) Unfortunately, due to natural habitat loss, Osprey often end up using man-made structures like utility poles and cell towers (instead of trees and snags) for nesting sites, which can pose a hazardous situation if those structures have energized wires. We hope these new platforms will help solve some of the current ‘housing crisis’ for our beloved Osprey.
