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REPORT OSPREY NESTS TO THREE RIVERS PARK DISTRICT Have you seen an osprey nesting within 50 miles of the Twin Cities? If so, Three Rivers Park District would like to know about it. The Park District has been monitoring the osprey's population growth for the past 18 years, which includes determining the number of young fledged each year and banding the young to help follow the population expansion. Park personnel are interested in finding new nests, especially those that are not located on nest structures built specifically for ospreys. Ospreys once were a common site in the Twin Cities, but by the mid-20th century, their numbers were drastically reduced due to shooting, loss of habitat and pesticide exposure. In 1984, Three Rivers Park District began reintroducing ospreys to their former nesting territory in the eight-county metro area. More than 50 nest platforms have been placed throughout the metro area, but the growing osprey population also has taken a liking to power poles, light poles, water towers, and even wind-turbine machines. These are the nests park biologists hope to find. Ospreys prefer to nest on high structures in open areas near water, since their primary food source is fish. That is why some people refer to them as "fish hawks." With a 4-1/2- to five-foot wingspan, ospreys are easy to identify. These massive raptors have distinctive dark "masks" across their faces, long black-hooked beaks, and dark brown backs. Osprey breasts are white, and females often have a "necklace" of dark brown spots over their throats and upper breasts. Ospreys typically initiate nesting activity in early April and are gone from the state by late September, when they migrate to South and Central America. To report an osprey nest sighting, call Three Rivers Park District at 763/694-7840 or e-mail [email protected]. 2004 is the 20th Anniversary of the Twin Cities Osprey Program! Three Rivers Park District will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Twin Cities Osprey Program from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, July 10, at Carver Park Reserve in Victoria!. Thank you. Nancy Lauseng Public Relations Specialist Three Rivers Park District <mailto:[email protected]>[email protected] | 763/559-6745 --============_-1130655723==_ma============ Content-Type: text/html; charset="us-ascii" <!doctype html public "-//W3C//DTD W3 HTML//EN"> <html><head><style type="text/css"><!-- blockquote, dl, ul, ol, li { padding-top: 0 ; padding-bottom: 0 } --></style><title>Report Osprey Nests</title></head><body> <div><u><b>REPORT OSPREY NESTS TO THREE RIVERS PARK DISTRICT<br> <br> </b></u>Have you seen an osprey nesting within 50 miles of the Twin Cities? If so, Three Rivers Park District would like to know about it.</div> <div><br> The Park District has been monitoring the osprey's population growth for the past 18 years, which includes determining the number of young fledged each year and banding the young to help follow the population expansion. Park personnel are interested in finding new nests, especially those that are not located on nest structures built specifically for ospreys.</div> <div><br> Ospreys once were a common site in the Twin Cities, but by the mid-20th century, their numbers were drastically reduced due to shooting, loss of habitat and pesticide exposure. In 1984, Three Rivers Park District began reintroducing ospreys to their former nesting territory in the eight-county metro area. More than 50 nest platforms have been placed throughout the metro area, but the growing osprey population also has taken a liking to power poles, light poles, water towers, and even wind-turbine machines. These are the nests park biologists hope to find. Ospreys prefer to nest on high structures in open areas near water, since their primary food source is fish. That is why some people refer to them as "fish hawks."</div> <div><br> With a 4-1/2- to five-foot wingspan, ospreys are easy to identify. These massive raptors have distinctive dark "masks" across their faces, long black-hooked beaks, and dark brown backs. Osprey breasts are white, and females often have a "necklace" of dark brown spots over their throats and upper breasts. Ospreys typically initiate nesting activity in early April and are gone from the state by late September, when they migrate to South and Central America.</div> <div><br> To report an osprey nest sighting, call Three Rivers Park District at 763/694-7840 or e-mail<u> [email protected]</u>.</div> <div><br> <u><b>2004 is the 20th Anniversary of the Twin Cities Osprey Program!</b></u><br> <u><b></b></u></div> <div>Three Rivers Park District will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Twin Cities Osprey Program from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, July 10, at Carver Park Reserve in Victoria!.</div> <div> </div> <div>Thank you.</div> <div> </div> <div>Nancy Lauseng<br> Public Relations Specialist<br> Three Rivers Park District<br> <a href="mailto:[email protected]"; >[email protected]</a> | 763/559-6745</div> <div><br></div> </body> </html> --============_-1130655723==_ma============--
