I vaguely remember someone asking for Osprey sighting reports not too long
ago on Tweeters.

This past weekend, Steven and I went to southwestern Washington to check
on the four Osprey nests we knew about from last year, to see if any nests
were occupied yet.

We found only one nest with Ospreys present--that is the nest in a snag
right in the vicinity of the highway interchange between state highways 12
and 107, in or near Montesano; there were two Ospreys perching on branches
near the nest, in the same tree.

Who in the state is monitoring Osprey nests? Since we probably won't get
to monitor these nests as frequently as last year, maybe someone else will
be able to.

The other three nests are

1) Atop a snag near Vance County Park in Elma--easily seen from the park
(and from the highway). No sign of activity there last Sunday, in the few
minutes we were there.

2) On a utility pole next to the Highway 107 bridge over the Chehalis
River near Montesano. While we were at this nest, which is very close to
the nest with Ospreys on Sunday, we saw one Osprey flying over the
river--it seemed to be hunting. We don't know if it was one of the two we
had already seen at the nearby nest or a different bird, but it never
approached the bridge nest.

3) On top of a tree (snag? can't remember) in the small town of Malone on
Highway 12, east of Elma. This nest looked unoccupied for the few minutes
we watched it on 29 March. The nest also was mounded on top and seemed to
have grass growing out the top! We know, though, that this nest was
occupied by at least one Osprey for at least part of last year.

Last year we also saw Ospreys attempting to nest on a utility pole over
the water at the Purdy Lagoon (not sure of name, but near "downtown"
Purdy). We didn't get to check that one out this year.