Flying high: Ospreys making a comeback on East End, new report says
Group for the East End president Bob DeLuca stands Wednesday near an osprey nest in East Marion. The nonprofit's osprey monitoring program shows there has been a continued uptick in the population of the species on eastern Long Island.
Credit: Randee Daddona
Once a threatened species, the osprey appears to be making a comeback on the East End, according to a study from a Southold-based environmental nonprofit.
Monitoring of the avian species last summer in the five East End towns showed a continued uptick in population, with Group for the East End documenting 353 active nesting pairs that produced 505 fledglings, or baby ospreys, according to a new report from the organization.
During the late 1950s through 1970s, Long Island's osprey population declined due to use of pesticides such as DDT over marshlands that affected fish the osprey would eat, as well as increased wetlands development, Bob DeLuca, the nonprofit's president, told Newsday.
“Here on Long Island, the osprey is iconic … It’s a bird that many people associate with living on Long Island, it fishes locally like we do. When those numbers fell off the cliff, there was quite a bit of concern over whether or not they could come back,” DeLuca said.
However, the osprey population has improved steadily to levels close to where it was prior to the decline decades ago, the environmental activist said.
The osprey's status was downgraded from "threatened" to "special concern" in 1999, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
Ospreys usually measure 22 to 25 inches, with a wingspan of 4 to 6 feet, and are attracted to the sizable fish population on Long Island's coastlines. The birds tend to return to the same location every year to nest and raise fledglings.
The return of the ospreys, DeLuca said, could be attributed to two things.
One is an increase in nesting — which has been encouraged with the installation of nesting platforms and more monitoring of the birds by nonprofits in the last 30 years, according to the environmentalist.
He said regulations limiting the fishing of Atlantic menhaden — a major osprey food source also known as bunker fish — are the second reason.
“The population has come back almost fully, and as a result, the challenge is to sustain that population,” DeLuca said.
The monitoring program, which operates with grants and private contributions, also gets support from PSEG Long Island when it comes to hazard assessment and conflict response, which is when people call about birds nesting on utility poles.
The nonprofit and utility company work together to identify problem areas and install mitigation measures designed to prevent osprey nesting.
Of 600 utility poles Group for the East End surveyed, 200 were identified as posing a risk for the birds and more than 80 of the highest risk poles received V-guard installations — mechanisms that prevent nesting.
Lisanne Altmann, a major account executive with PSEG Long Island, said the company has a dedicated osprey team that works on relocating nests safely in winter.
“We want to make sure the ospreys don’t get harmed and, at the same time, that the lights don’t go out for hundreds of people,” Altmann said.
Once a threatened species, the osprey appears to be making a comeback on the East End, according to a study from a Southold-based environmental nonprofit.
Monitoring of the avian species last summer in the five East End towns showed a continued uptick in population, with Group for the East End documenting 353 active nesting pairs that produced 505 fledglings, or baby ospreys, according to a new report from the organization.
During the late 1950s through 1970s, Long Island's osprey population declined due to use of pesticides such as DDT over marshlands that affected fish the osprey would eat, as well as increased wetlands development, Bob DeLuca, the nonprofit's president, told Newsday.
“Here on Long Island, the osprey is iconic … It’s a bird that many people associate with living on Long Island, it fishes locally like we do. When those numbers fell off the cliff, there was quite a bit of concern over whether or not they could come back,” DeLuca said.
However, the osprey population has improved steadily to levels close to where it was prior to the decline decades ago, the environmental activist said.
The osprey's status was downgraded from "threatened" to "special concern" in 1999, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
Ospreys usually measure 22 to 25 inches, with a wingspan of 4 to 6 feet, and are attracted to the sizable fish population on Long Island's coastlines. The birds tend to return to the same location every year to nest and raise fledglings.
A close-up of a modified utility pole in East Marion that is designed to protect ospreys from electrocution. Credit: Randee Daddona
The return of the ospreys, DeLuca said, could be attributed to two things.
One is an increase in nesting — which has been encouraged with the installation of nesting platforms and more monitoring of the birds by nonprofits in the last 30 years, according to the environmentalist.
He said regulations limiting the fishing of Atlantic menhaden — a major osprey food source also known as bunker fish — are the second reason.
“The population has come back almost fully, and as a result, the challenge is to sustain that population,” DeLuca said.
The monitoring program, which operates with grants and private contributions, also gets support from PSEG Long Island when it comes to hazard assessment and conflict response, which is when people call about birds nesting on utility poles.
The nonprofit and utility company work together to identify problem areas and install mitigation measures designed to prevent osprey nesting.
Of 600 utility poles Group for the East End surveyed, 200 were identified as posing a risk for the birds and more than 80 of the highest risk poles received V-guard installations — mechanisms that prevent nesting.
Lisanne Altmann, a major account executive with PSEG Long Island, said the company has a dedicated osprey team that works on relocating nests safely in winter.
“We want to make sure the ospreys don’t get harmed and, at the same time, that the lights don’t go out for hundreds of people,” Altmann said.
East End osprey monitoring by the numbers
In Riverhead, Group For The East End staff and volunteers monitored 25 potential nesting sites, 19 of which showed activity, producing 29 fledglings.
In Southampton, 154 sites were monitored and 112 were active, producing 139 fledglings.
In East Hampton, 63 sites were monitored and 49 were active, producing 84 fledglings.
In Southold, 183 sites were monitored and 136 were active, producing 193 fledglings.
On Shelter Island, 52 sites were monitored and 37 were active, producing 60 fledglings.
Source: Group for the East End
