A promising outcome from a dangerous situation

by Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager

Yesterday evening, while conducting an osprey nest survey at Sedge Island Wildlife Management Area, I received a message from a local wildlife photographer about an osprey nestling that was entangled. I talked to the photographer, Rich Nicol and got detailed information about the situation, the nest, and started to formulate a plan to address the situation. After learning that the nest was on a 35-40’ high pole, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to get up there without some help. Yes – a large ladder would suffice, but it would be tricky to handle the situation (with the bird being entangled). You see, after seeing photos of the young osprey, I knew it was RTF (Ready To Fly). Ospreys fledge or take their first flight at around 7-8 weeks of age. The entangled osprey was around 7 weeks old. I knew we had to act quickly to catch the bird and untangle it before it tried to fledge. This morning I saw the photos that Rich took and it clearly showed that the young osprey had monofilament or a net around its neck… (more…)