UpState Ospreys

Sometimes the dream of one becomes the dream of many. That’s how it is for many who knew and loved Dennis Puleston, friend of ospreys, friend of the environment, friend of mine .

Dennis’ willingness to take urgent action to right a wrong, guaranteed that his dream of saving ospreys from extinction would become a reality. People inhaled this breath of fresh air and honesty and today Dennis has friends all over the world helping to continue the efforts to keep the dream, the reality and the ospreys thriving.

When our two young sons spotted our first "upstate osprey" fishing in the Tioga River near our home in Painted Post, NY, we were surprised but delighted to know that the birds existed in our area. That was in the mid 1980s. There were no known nests here then and so we contacted Dennis to find out more.

From that day on, Dennis became our mentor via correspondence, phone or visits to his study in Brookhaven. He was especially pleased when we had the opportunity to volunteer for an osprey reintroduction project just over the NYS/PA border at the Tioga-Hammond-Cowanesque Lakes area. The dream had found its way to our little corner of the world.

Osprey chicks, about 3 weeks old, were brought to T-H-C from the Chesapeake Bay area. The idea was to raise them in artificial nests in a specially constructed tower and to release them when they were ready to fledge, with the hope that they would return to the area as adults to raise families on their own. This program is discussed in detail in the archives, June 30, 2003 and July 7, 2003 Commentaries, on this web site.

There were many great moments at the tower and one in particular during the pre-fledging phase stands out. At an estimated 54 days of age, the protective screen was lowered and it became a "deck" to allow for more space for the juvenile ospreys to exercise their wings and to allow them access to their freedom. "Number 7" was the first to try her wings. She flapped really hard.....flap,flap,flap and lifted straight up a few inches, each time lifting a little higher, while looking down at her dangling feet. Suddenly a strong gust of wind came along and swept her off the deck. She tumbled backward and headed for disaster.

We were on our feet racing to "rescue" her. Then, as if on cue, we all stopped at the sight of those outstretched talons.

FLAP..........FLAP..........FLAP............Her powerful wings moved in what seemed like slow motion and she righted herself just inches from the ground. She buzzed us and looped around the tower in a graceful arc. She made it to a dead tree at the edge of the lake and spent the night there alone.

Would we ever see her again?

In the morning, "Freedom 7" was back on the roof of the tower calling for breakfast. We threw a fish up to her......bite and twist. She devoured it.

One by one, the young ospreys fledged. Once, we saw an unrelated adult land with a fish in the dead tree right next to a calling juvenile. The hungry young osprey appeared to need a "helping beak." The adult answered the call and began feeding him. But by the end of the summer all the juveniles were diving and catching fish on their own. They headed for South America in September and to our delight, many did return to start the life cycle over again. Today, there are 15 nesting sites, with eight nests producing healthy young at T-H-C Lakes. Some birds built on nesting platforms and some preferred dead trees along the shore or tree stumps in the middle of the lake.

A photo of the three 2004 Abbey Osprey Chicks

Five years ago, a new dream worked its way into my brain and wouldn’t leave. We arranged to have a nesting platform built on our own property in Lindley, NY along the Tioga River, one of the outlets from the T-H-C area. For four seasons, no osprey appeared to be interested in the site. All that changed after we added a circular wild grapevine base and some extra sticks to give the appearance of a nest "in progress". Finally, in April of this year, an adult osprey appeared and was observed checking out the "nest". We thought for sure that the dream would have a chance to be realized, maybe in the spring of 2005. But in May, more sticks were added; a male was helping to construct a real nest. In June, the female was observed sitting on the nest. That could mean only one thing.........Eggs!! Maybe there was just one egg or maybe two.

The familiar pattern of fish being brought to the nest and then action that resembled feeding "something" in the nest gave us exciting clues that new life was beginning. We watched through a telescope at a safe distance and we could see just one fuzzy head. Finally we saw two, then three little heads. Last week we took photos and video of our beautiful osprey chicks adorned in their splendid juvenile feathers. It was just in time, for this week the fledging has begun.

A dream, a reality once again lives because of the mind and soul of one man who made all the difference in the world.

Marilyn Porto Abbey
(Retired teacher, osprey watcher)

A report from biologist, Theresa Reynolds

A report prepared by Theresa Reynolds, biologist, who monitors the nests at Tioga-Hammond-Cowanesque Lakes in Pennsylvania. It shows a very healthy reproduction rate of 2.6 young per nest. If all 15 of the active nests are included, the rate is 1.4 per nest, which, as Art Cooley points out, is well above the minimal "replacement" rate of 0.8. It should be noted that prior to 1994, there were no osprey nests at T-H-C Lakes.

Name	ID	# of Young	Summary of Activity (up to 7/30/04)
USFW wetlands	H12	3	This brood fledged first in terms of the wetland nests, which are all artificial platforms that are in close proximity to one another. During almost every visit the male was just bringing back a fish for the female and young to consume. The young most definitely were well-fed by the size of the fish being caught
2nd closest wetlands	H11	2	This pair had a slow start but were able to successfully raise two young that have just recently fledged
Closest wetlands	H10	2	Another late start from this pair but were able to raise two young that have just recently fledged
South Overlook	C7	3	Adult male, banded at the hacking tower in 1994, has helped raise the 2nd year’s successful brood of three healthy chicks. All fledglings are now actively fishing on their own
Mann Hill Rd	H2	2	This nest is located on a platform on private property in a housing development. The osprey didn’t seem to mind the close human contact however. Two young were raised and fledged successfully
Old Route 49	C11	4	These 4 fledglings were recently being taught how to fish for themselves and soar high in the sky. This nesting pole is a favorite view for many boaters
Bliss Rd/Rt 49 intrsct	C15	3	This nest was constructed on top of an electric pole last year and has been successful both last year and this year. The three young are not quite ready to leave the nest but probably do so in about a week
Trunk N. of Duck Island	C12	2	This nest was constructed on a small stump sticking out of the Lake. This pair seemed to be having a hard time getting settled and the 2 young should fledge in another week