Osprey Nesting This Spring

[snakeroot]

Osprey nests abound adjacent to a local river. Most of the nests are

on top of high tension wire cross poles and are used every year. A

couple nearby have large trees bordering the clear cut for the high-

tension wires.

 

I'm considering placing a blind in the tree, only large enough for my

1Ds MarkII, EF500mm, 1.4 TC, and a 25 mm if allow by the focusing

distance. I would make a wooden box, waterproof and camo. I expect

the setup to be 60 yards from the nest.

 

Problems?

 

I would wait for a nesting pair to establish themselves, and then at

night climb to the box and place my camera. I would get back 400

yards or more, and observe with binoculars. The camera would be

triggered at interesting times.

[greg s]

"Problems?"

 

Not likely Michael. Osprey tend to be quite tolerant, at least here in the Pacific NW. There are 2 platforms ay Sauvie Island setup by the F&W Dept, with nests every year. I stay a respectful distance away (in the open), but the birds aren't nervous. Sometimes I get a bit closer for a couple minutes when the chicks are almost ready to take flight.

 

Here's some shots from Sauvie. I'm not much of an in-flight photographer, but it's quite easy to photograph them coming in and out of the nest. Also, you get to see what they've been catching. :)

 

http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=409234

 

Enjoy & have fun! -Greg-

[jo7hs2]

Yeah, that should work without any serious disturbance. The Ospreys on Wye Island in Maryland are in similar poles right on the road, and they tolerate in-car observation from much closer than 60 yards. You're setup would provide an excellent chance to view them completely unhindered by your presence. I would almost suggest putting a cheapo "lipstick" or "pinhole" wireless camera/transmitter (cheap on ebay, somewhat short range) and rigging it behind your viewfinder. There is a guy with a totally mechanized remote controlled camera system hanging out at the Guntersville dam here in Alabama. Very neat.

[jo7hs2]

That should read "picking up" not putting.

[wagner]

I think Ospreys are still protected under the Federal Migratory Nesting Bird Act, which means you can't disturb them. You'll have to look up the legal definition of that. The general rule of thumb I've always heard for Osprey's is not to come within 500ft during nesting season for any reason. Whatever you do, be careful, it would be ashame to lose a chick or force the pair to leave.

[jo7hs2]

Paul, I tried to check on the act you mentioned, and nothing is coming up, so you must have the name wrong. The only thing I came up with was something regarding a migratory bird act that was a domestic implementation of a treaty signed in 1917 or 1918. The real problem with "legal" definitions is that frequently, with an ambiguous term like "disturb", the only definition that exists is based solely on what your judge had for lunch today, or worse, based on what he interprets from a guy who decided based on his lunch sixty years ago. Okay, cynical, yes, but you hit the nail on the head, if Ospreys are still protected in such a fashion (and no matter what) don't do anything that might disturb them, from whatever distance.

[wagner]

Actually legal definitions are not always that vague. I didnt remember it off the top of my head, but causing them to leave is probably disturning them.

 

I double checked and the Osprey is listed.

[wagner]

'unless permitted by regulations [it is illegal], to "pursue, hunt, take, capture, kill, attempt to take, capture or kill, possess, offer for sale, sell, offer to purchase, purchase, deliver for shipment, ship, cause to be shipped, deliver for transportation, transport, cause to be transported, carry, or cause to be carried by any means whatever, receive for shipment, transportation or carriage, or export, at any time, or in any manner, any migratory bird, included in the terms of this Convention . . . for the protection of migratory birds . . . or any part, nest, or egg of any such bird." (16 U.S.C. 703)

 

So the attempt to photograph in the manner described could be "pursue".

 

also:

 

P.L. 105-312, Migratory Bird Treaty Reform Act of 1998, amended the law to make it unlawful to take migratory game birds by the aid of bait if the person knows or reasonably should know that the area is baited. This provision eliminates the "strict liability" standard that was used to enforce Federal baiting regulations and replaces it with a "know or should have known" standard. These amendments also make it unlawful to place or direct the placement of bait on or adjacent to an area for the purpose of taking or attempting to take migratory game birds, and makes these violations punishable under title 18 United States Code, (with fines up to $100,000 for individuals and $200,000 for organizations), imprisonment for not more than 1 year, or both. The new amendments require the Secretary of Interior to submit to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and the House Committee on Resources a report analyzing the effect of these amendments and the practice of baiting on migratory bird conservation and law enforcement. The report to Congress is due no later than five years after enactment of the new law.

 

from:

http://www.fws.gov/migratorybirds/intrnltr/treatlaw.html#mbta

[snakeroot]

Well, I for one don't unnerstan that legal mumbo-jumbo. I heard osprey tastes like chicken.

[wagner]

"Disturb" might not apply as that is used in the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (BGEPA)and we were discussing the MBTA. Having said that, the courts agreed that "disturb" did need a definition as you suggested (doh!-I was wrong) and define it as to agitate or bother to the degree that interferes with or interrupts normal breeding, feeding, or sheltering habits, causing injury, death, or nest abandonment.

[greg s]

Regarding 'disturb', a lot depends on location. Some locations, like the places I described at Sauvie Island, are so close to human activity that the birds become quite used to it. Other remote locations may have the same type of birds, but that are potentially disturbed by human presence. It's a matter of sizing up the situation and acting with the proper level of discetion accordingly. I don't photograph the ospreys over at the Sauvie Island beach area because there are people all over the place. Yet the birds successfully raise several chicks a year. The area I do photograph in has a nest that produces 4 chicks a year like clockwork, despite being just beside a dirt road (4 feet) that is busy on the weekends with pickups, bicycles, and even a few pedestrians.

 

There is an active Great Horned Owl nest 100 feet off one of our paved park trails, and that bird is as accustomed to people as an owl could be. The manner in which I photograph that location versus how I would photograph one of the other remote, hidden GHO nests I know of are very different. A case by case approach is applied, with care.

[snakeroot]

Seriously, I have no plans to disturb nesting osprey.

 

I may be out of luck with my local nests, scouting 3 of them today revealed no large trees within a reasonable distance. The best I can do is to photograph them flying into the nests from a ground position, or from a slightly elevated position in a small tree.

 

Again, I plan on this setup at night, triggering the camera with pocketwizard multiMAX's. I won't remove the camera until nightfall.

 

I have a couple more leads, but doubt I can get elevation to the same level as the nests in my local area without significant disturbance to the birds.

[wagner]

I believe that you do not intend to disturb the birds. The question is, do you know with a very high degree of certainty that you will not disturb the birds?

 

Very different...

[bill_thorlin]

Paul - thank you for your efforts and for the information provided. It would appear that the US and UK laws are very similar and are designed for the protection of the birds especially during the nesting period.

 

There have been numerous threads and postings on this topic and very similar ones, especially recently, and the vast majority of responses have been that this is not something that should be done.

 

Nothing is ever simply black and white and there are always grey areas as with most things but following on from your last posting I think it fair to say that unless you are totally sure ( and by sure I mean 110% ) then do not do it. To put it the other way round, if there is the slightest doubt ( one tenth of 1% ) about what you intend then again do not do it.

 

The interests of the birds come before the interests of the photographer.

[snakeroot]

Again Bill you miss the whole point of this thread. We are talking about whether osprey tastes like chicken, and what:\'s the big deal to have a couple of dead chicks are when you can get great shots of ospreys hauling back fish carcasses.

 

You are so preachy Bill. What made you boss?

 

Geesh.

[bill_thorlin]

What more can one say except perhaps - "never wrestle a pig".

[snakeroot]

"totally sure ( and by sure I mean 110%"

 

I think that except for the deluded mathmeticians amongst us, this is impossible.

 

Even the largest stretch of the law, what I contemplate cannot be interpreted as baiting a protected species for the purpose of taking them.

 

All greenies are the same, typing away against human use of nature on their keyboards manufactured from the same petroleum reserves that I use. The kettle calling the frying pan black syndrome, mixed in with a little funny math.

 

110%, I mean, really.

[snakeroot]

Name calling further identifies you as an individual clearly on the fringe of sanity.

[bill_thorlin]

No name calling ( I leave that to you ) - merely an analogical aphorism.

[wagner]

What a strange turn in the conversation....

My remarks about baiting were only made because of the general topic being discussed, not because I believed you would do it. Simply to inform other readers. Moreover, I offered no opinion about (right/wrong)...again, just making people aware.

 

As for the comment "All greenies are the same, typing away against human use of nature on their keyboards manufactured from the same petroleum reserves that I use. The kettle calling the frying pan black syndrome, mixed in with a little funny math."

 

Where does this come from and who are the greenies and how do keyboards manufactured from petroleum relate to what you can or cannot do under the law?

[heatherforcier]

Last summer I rented a boat to photograph some birds from the water. In a subsequent conversation with local Fish and Wildlife, I was informed that I was not allowed to come within a certain distance of the Osprey nests. Whether this was actual law (I didn't look it up) or a power-hungry F&W employee (seemed like a reasonable man), I don't honestly know. But I do think you should consult with your local agencies about the legalities of building such a structure on property that isn't yours (perhaps I'm making an incorrect assumption, but that's sort of how it reads in the original post) and about any issues being within 60 yards of an active Osprey nest.

[snakeroot]

Heather, obviously you have never hunted. A blind can be something as simple as a few tree branches erected to obscure the outline of a shape. The simple wooden box could be temporarily placed in the crotch of a limb and secured with twine. Only the glass need show. No building on my part, except the wooden box in my shop.

 

I agree with the boat on the water rule, imagine adult osprey and their alarm with seeing an approaching motorboat. (Especially if crazy Bill was in it.)

 

It's a different story entirely on land, especially in an area prescouted and prepared before nesting season. Darkness would be key, to both setting the camera, (the EF 500mm has a preset function which will be quite useful), and removing the camera after shooting during the day.

 

I've done similar setups prior to hunting season for many species of game animals, getting much closer than 60 yards. I've never tried getting close to animals on open water in a boat.

 

There is no law with a 60 foot rule, only the vague federal reference referred to above. The only disturbance the birds will notice is the click of the shutter.

 

I really doubt they taste like chicken anyways. If they're anything like eider, they would taste like snails and seaweed.

 

Regards.

[barbara_walker]

Unfortunately protections for Ospreys and other birds have been weakened and diminished. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act does provide some protections but it seems to me that species, for example, the bald eagle, are being delisted too easily and too quickly. Most states come up with species management plans but too often those plans are really development plans and do not adquately conserve habitat. I am currently working on an Osprey project with the Clearwater Audubon Society. I will post that work with photos soon. The pair of Ospreys have resorted to nesting on a low sign having lost their nesting tree last year. I'm working with our local power company. They are going to put the platform for the Ospreys up.

Barb Walker

Clearwater Audubon Society

[simon27]

As far as disturbing the nesting opspreys, they will start making noise when you get too close. We have a nest in a preserve near here and you can only walk up to a certain point on the beach before they start making noise. Back off and they stop.