Osprey Need a Helping Hand

The return of spring brings with it many things including the osprey. These large brown and white fish-eating birds of prey find the Salmon region an ideal place to spend the summer and raise their young. During 2003, Fish and Game's Nongame Biologist Beth Waterbury documented 29 known osprey-nesting territories in the region. Osprey build large stick nests in a variety of locations near water. Along the upper Salmon River Corridor osprey most frequently utilize artificial nest platforms and, to a lesser extent, cottonwood snags. When constructing their nests, osprey often add a wide assortment of materials that sometimes seem more decorative than functional. Some of these items include plant stalks, rope, pieces of sod, dried manure, and old boards. More unusual items include barrel hoops, a boat tiller, brooms, feather dusters, shoes and boots, old bones, bird wings, and even a rag doll and a toy boat. Bailing twine seems to be the item of choice of birds in this area and many nests seem to be nearly covered with the long orange strands. Unfortunately, this material can cause serious trouble for the nesting ospreys. Fish and Game receives many calls each summer from concerned residents reporting an osprey caught in its nest. More often than not, the culprit turns out to be the bailing twine. When used to line the nest, the twine can entangle feet, wings, and even the body of an osprey nestling. Adults can also fall victim. Unless promptly freed, these birds will die. Since bailing twine is not biodegradable, it accumulates in the nests over successive years. Because osprey re-use old nests, the bailing twine turns the nest into a potential death trap for any osprey pair and their nestlings. During 2003, two ospreys were documented as having died as a result of becoming entangled in bailing twine. Direct maintenance of osprey nests by staff from Fish and Game was done during the fall of 2003. Bailing twine was trimmed off one nest while eight others that were so completely covered in bailing twine were removed entirely. While these efforts surely helped our nesting osprey, a better way to help these birds is for landowners to make sure to pick up and properly dispose of any bailing twine on their property. Check fields and corrals to keep them free of bailing twine that might be found by nesting osprey. If you see an osprey that appears to be entangled in its nest, please report it to Fish and Game. With your help, our osprey can have a safe nesting season this year and many years to come.