Subject: Re: Osprey at Everett, WA
Date: May 30 08:56:58 1996
From: "Ed Schulz" - eschulz at eldec.com


Wed. Kelly McAllister writes:

>At 10:32 AM 5/29/96 -0700, Ed Shulz wrote:
>>
>>Last Saturday Mike Patrick and I did a quick search of the Everett
>>waterfront to count the osprey nests that are active this season. We came
>>up with 12 nests, most of which are visible from the overlook at Legion Park.
>>Last year there were about 15.

>In 1984, when the Department of Wildlife attempted a comprehensive,
>statewide survey of osprey nests, there were no known nests on the Everett
>waterfront. I think that there may have been two active nests in 1989 when
>a 5-year follow-up survey was completed. The increase here is substantial.
>Why are bald eagles and ospreys increasing in our region? Increases in
>their prey are not readily apparent. The favorite explanations are:

>1) It's a response to the ban on the sale of DDT.
>2) It's a response to a decrease in shooting of predators.
>3) It's a response to the combination of 1 and 2.

A couple weeks ago I was speaking with Ruth Milner at the State Dept. of
Fish & Wildlife and she indicated that although the ospreys that nest in
colonies are doing well it wasn't so clear the the inland birds that tend
to nest individually were doing so well. It could be that osprey are now
tending to nest in groups more so than in the past. There are numerous
bald eagle that feed on the mud flats west of Jetty Island when the tide
is low. Perhaps the osprey are nesting in groups as a means of better
defending their territory. Eagle are often seen being "escorted" out of the
area by the osprey. A friend described an impact between an osprey and
eagle last season, "The little cloud of feathers hung motionless in the
sky as both birds flew on".

Ed Schulz
Everett, WA
eschulz at eldec.com