Tag Archives: birds

Ospreys Up Close

Posted on July 25, 2012 by Mass Audubon

Have you ever seen a hawk-like bird swoop down in the water, diving for fish? Chances are it’s an Osprey. These raptors once dubbed “fish hawks” are in a family all by themselves and can be found on six of the seven continents (both in fresh and salt water).

In Massachusetts, you will start seeing them in late March, reclaiming or finding new nesting platforms. By September 15, they’re on their way south again. And while the state now has an abundance of ospreys, this wasn’t always the case. A look back:

Ancient History
Think of what hadn’t happened by 1620. The land hadn’t been cleared for agriculture, so waterside nesting possibilities (on dead trees) were endless. And fish populations hadn’t been decimated, so food sources (an Osprey’s diet consists of 99 percent fish) were abundant.

Twentieth Century
We know Osprey nests remained in Massachusetts by 1900. Swansea chicken farmers had learned that Ospreys would vehemently protect their nests from hawks, so they coaxed them to nest on their lands. The sphere of protection thus created protected the chickens.

By mid-century, pesticides began causing nest failures, dropping the statewide population to 11 pairs. The banning of such chemicals and a nest platform construction program on the South Coast led to the rejuvenation of the Osprey population in Massachusetts. As of 2011, there were more than 200 Ospreys in Massachusetts.

Locating Ospreys
The best places to see Ospreys in Massachusetts are along the South Coast, Cape Cod, and the Islands. Here, many of our wildlife sanctuaries run Osprey monitoring programs including Allens Pond, Wellfleet Bay, Long Pasture, Felix Neck, and the South Shore Sanctuaries. Volunteer monitors are asked to report on the “phenology” of the birds: the timing of the events of their lives. When do they return to the nest? How long do they take to build or strengthen their nests? When do the eggs hatch? When do we see the first youngsters? When do the little ones fledge?

Learning More
In order to really understand the Osprey, Mass Audubon staff members band Osprey chicks every July. Banding involves placing harmless metallic bands around the lower portions of the legs of the young birds with unique tracking numbers so we might learn more about the individual life of the bird, and more generally about the species in total. Often, monitors are invited to the banding, and get the opportunity to meet “their” Ospreys face-to-face. It’s a remarkable moment.

Get Involved
Most Osprey monitoring projects are low-impact, opportunistic affairs, although protocols vary from sanctuary to sanctuary. We really just need to continue gathering as much data as possible so that we can continue to learn about these wonderful birds. Get involved today by contacting one of the wildlife sanctuaries mentioned above.

Learn more about Ospreys at one of these upcoming programs or by following Mass Audubon’s Westport Osprey Blog.

If You Re-Build It…

Posted on July 23, 2012 by Hillary T.

It’s a story we unfortunately hear all too often. Birds were here, and now some of them are not. This is especially true for Grassland birds (i.e. birds that breed in open fields of 25-plus acres). According to our recent State of the Birds report, these birds are by and large, declining—some of them precipitously so.

But in the case of one Grassland bird, the state-listed Grasshopper Sparrow, we have some exciting news to report! It all started back in 2004, when our Ecological Extension Service (EES) joined forces with the City of Worcester and the Casella Waste Management Company to re-cap the 35-acre Greenwood Street Landfill while maintaining Grasshopper Sparrow habitat.

For those who are unfamiliar with EES, it’s a program through which Mass Audubon shares with conservation partners (land trusts, cities and towns, state and federal agencies) the considerable expertise we’ve developed in managing 34,000 acres including habitat restoration.

The landfill was originally closed and capped in 1986, and the meadow that developed became Grasshopper Sparrow breeding habitat (eight males were observed there during our 1997-2000 statewide Grassland Bird Survey). But when the old landfill cap began to settle, the whole site needed to be re-graded and re-capped. EES proposed a phased approach to re-capping and supervised the 2010 restoration of the first re-capped area with a native grass seed mix.

In regular monitoring visits, our EES team observed Snow Buntings, Eastern Meadowlarks, Bobolinks, and American Kestrels passing through and making occasional use of the site. But they still had their ears peeled for the elusive tik tuk tzeeee of the Grasshopper Sparrow.

This year, as EES staff visited almost weekly, some people wondered whether this bird that had complicated the project was ever at the landfill in the first place. Well they were, and now they’re back!

In early June, two males were observed singing in the restored grassland and defending territory from each other. No females yet, but with these territories featuring lots of little bluestem and dramatic views of Route 146 and the wastewater treatment facility, can they be far behind?

Since this site is considered smaller than the optimal habitat patch size for Grasshopper Sparrows, we hope to continue to monitor the site to assess whether they are successfully breeding. The remaining sections of the landfill will be re-capped and restored in 2013 and 2014. If all goes well, the newly capped landfill will once again provide habitat for Grasshopper Sparrows and other grassland birds.

The Greenwood Street Capping Project is currently an active construction site. Access is restricted to authorized personnel and construction-related activities only. 

Photo via Shawn Carey