Vineyard Ospreys
by Tracy Hampton
If you look around Martha's Vineyard, you might notice some telephone poles that aren't connected to any lines. And if you look at one closely, you may see a large bird's nest perched on top. A Vineyard native has erected over a hundred of these poles on the island for the sole purpose of nesting ospreys. Each spring the birds come to Martha?s Vineyard, raise a few fledglings during the summer, and then in the fall, they fly off to tropical lands for the winter. Tracy Hampton reports on this bird of prey and a project that's mapping its migration.
Gus Ben David: "This pair, for some reason, is very territorial. And then what you're hearing right now is irritation. Somebody's in my territory and I don& #39t like it. It's a high pitch. See?"
(sounds of bird calls)
Over the past three decades, Gus Ben David has been devoted to resurrecting the population of ospreys on Martha's Vineyard. He's a third generation islander, and he heads up the Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary in Edgartown.
Gus Ben David: "Let's start 1970. Only 2 nesting pairs of ospreys were on Martha's Vineyard in old dead trees, which are a short commodity here on Martha& #39s Vineyard. One blew down. I organized a group of volunteers. We put up an artificial nesting platform. They utilized our pole. That was the beginning of our osprey program on Felix neck. What's transpired between then and now, you could write volumes, you could write a book about. We are now up to almost 70 pairs of nesting ospreys on MV."
Ospreys that come to Martha's Vineyard in the spring look for a nesting spot. If no trees or artificial nesting poles are available, the birds try to build nests on the next best thing : power lines. But this isn't a good option. Sometimes they can start fires.
Gus Ben David: "What we tell everyone on the Vineyard, and they know that now, is the minute you see any osprey putting sticks on the line, you call me. We get right in there and size up the situation. Who's the landowner? You gotta get your ducks in a row. You gotta get in there and put an alternative pole up, or they'll continue to build on that."
With the help of local landowners and electrical companies, Ben David's been keeping an eye on the ospreys on Martha's Vineyard for the past three decades. Now he's keeping an eye on them even when they leave the island in the fall. He& #39s teamed up with Mark Martell of the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine. Martell's an expert at tracking migrating birds of prey. So far, Ben David and Martell have attached satellite units to two pairs of Martha's Vineyard ospreys. The units look like little backpacks, and when the birds fly down to exotic lands, Martell maps their trip.
Mark Martell: "For me the most exciting part is to see where the birds go, where they're wintering. The navigational abilities are incredible that they can go down there and find their way back. There's no way I could start from Martha's Vineyard and find my way to Venezuela, even if I could walk across the water."
Since Martell's posted the birds' migration patterns on the web, he's found that folks on Martha?s Vineyard share his enthusiasm.
Mark Martell: "We're constantly getting feedback. We've gotten I don& #39t know how many e-mails from MV. People generally share the same fascinations that we do. They know the bird on that nest or they have ospreys in their yard, and just getting an idea of where those birds are going to winter."
Ben David isn't surprised at the local following. He's seen the positive impact ospreys have had.
Gus Ben David: "If you ever had a flagship species that represents the Vineyard, and people were to vote, it would be hands-down, the osprey, because so many people love them, and so many people have been a part of this success story."
After the birds spend the summer on the Vineyard, they'll take off for warmer terrain. To follow the migration patterns of the Martha's Vineyard ospreys, log on to the birdsofprey.org and then click on the word migration at the top of the page.
Tracy Hampton is a reporter for WCAI-WNAN.
If you look around Martha's Vineyard, you might notice some telephone poles that aren't connected to any lines. And if you look at one closely, you may see a large bird's nest perched on top. A Vineyard native has erected over a hundred of these poles on the island for the sole purpose of nesting ospreys. Each spring the birds come to Martha?s Vineyard, raise a few fledglings during the summer, and then in the fall, they fly off to tropical lands for the winter. Tracy Hampton reports on this bird of prey and a project that's mapping its migration.
Gus Ben David: "This pair, for some reason, is very territorial. And then what you're hearing right now is irritation. Somebody's in my territory and I don& #39t like it. It's a high pitch. See?"
(sounds of bird calls)
Over the past three decades, Gus Ben David has been devoted to resurrecting the population of ospreys on Martha's Vineyard. He's a third generation islander, and he heads up the Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary in Edgartown.
Gus Ben David: "Let's start 1970. Only 2 nesting pairs of ospreys were on Martha's Vineyard in old dead trees, which are a short commodity here on Martha& #39s Vineyard. One blew down. I organized a group of volunteers. We put up an artificial nesting platform. They utilized our pole. That was the beginning of our osprey program on Felix neck. What's transpired between then and now, you could write volumes, you could write a book about. We are now up to almost 70 pairs of nesting ospreys on MV."
Ospreys that come to Martha's Vineyard in the spring look for a nesting spot. If no trees or artificial nesting poles are available, the birds try to build nests on the next best thing : power lines. But this isn't a good option. Sometimes they can start fires.
Gus Ben David: "What we tell everyone on the Vineyard, and they know that now, is the minute you see any osprey putting sticks on the line, you call me. We get right in there and size up the situation. Who's the landowner? You gotta get your ducks in a row. You gotta get in there and put an alternative pole up, or they'll continue to build on that."
With the help of local landowners and electrical companies, Ben David's been keeping an eye on the ospreys on Martha's Vineyard for the past three decades. Now he's keeping an eye on them even when they leave the island in the fall. He& #39s teamed up with Mark Martell of the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine. Martell's an expert at tracking migrating birds of prey. So far, Ben David and Martell have attached satellite units to two pairs of Martha's Vineyard ospreys. The units look like little backpacks, and when the birds fly down to exotic lands, Martell maps their trip.
Mark Martell: "For me the most exciting part is to see where the birds go, where they're wintering. The navigational abilities are incredible that they can go down there and find their way back. There's no way I could start from Martha's Vineyard and find my way to Venezuela, even if I could walk across the water."
Since Martell's posted the birds' migration patterns on the web, he's found that folks on Martha?s Vineyard share his enthusiasm.
Mark Martell: "We're constantly getting feedback. We've gotten I don& #39t know how many e-mails from MV. People generally share the same fascinations that we do. They know the bird on that nest or they have ospreys in their yard, and just getting an idea of where those birds are going to winter."
Ben David isn't surprised at the local following. He's seen the positive impact ospreys have had.
Gus Ben David: "If you ever had a flagship species that represents the Vineyard, and people were to vote, it would be hands-down, the osprey, because so many people love them, and so many people have been a part of this success story."
After the birds spend the summer on the Vineyard, they'll take off for warmer terrain. To follow the migration patterns of the Martha's Vineyard ospreys, log on to the birdsofprey.org and then click on the word migration at the top of the page.
Tracy Hampton is a reporter for WCAI-WNAN.
