Happy to see the Ospreys return this week! Swooping across the roads and meadows, gliding through the swamp and creek by the house, crouched on their ubiquitous nesting platforms amidst the piles of sticks they call "nests."

Once, several years ago on a clear sunny day, our power suddenly went out! I decided it was a sign that I should go for a bike ride. A couple miles from the house, where our road intersects another, I came upon a ruckus.

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Y'see, that spring an Osprey couple had decided to build their "nest" atop a power pole at the intersection. The power company came with a ladder truck, and tore it down. The Ospreys, naturally, rebuilt. Really, you couldn't blame them; it was a perfect spot to set up housekeeping: surrounded by open fields, creeks and marshes, not too far away from the shores of the lake. If I'm honest, that's why I live here, too.

The power company came back a second time, tore the nest down again.

The Ospreys rebuilt.

The third time the power company folks came back, the fella climbed the ladder, got to the top... and climbed back down again. This time, there were eggs in the nest, so they had to leave the birds alone and hope for the best.

***

As I coasted to stop at the intersection (along with two other cyclists out for a spin), we all looked up at the smoldering nest. It had caught fire, the lone baby had jumped to the ground, and the parents were circling and calling overhead. A neighbor had seen all this going down and made phone calls, so our local firefighters were there, along with the power company folks. One of the firefighters was on the phone, and soon a wildlife rescue/rehab person showed up to take the baby into temporary custody. Then the two crews got busy. They tore down the remnants of the old nest, and sunk another telephone pole into the ground next to the one with wires on it. The new pole had a flat platform on top, and the crews then proceeded to rebuild a new nest of sticks for the birds (who were still anxiously flying around). After the nest was built, the wildlife rehab person returned, and they placed the baby back into the new nest on the new pole and platform.

Then everyone stood back and waited with fingers crossed. Would the baby stay put? Would the parents accept the new nest?

Turns out, yes! The birds all settled right in, and all the humans breathed a sigh of relief.

That autumn, after the Ospreys had migrated south for the cold season, the power company came back and relocated the platform pole out to the center of the adjacent open field, far away from the power lines.

The Ospreys like the locale just fine, and they've been returning ever year ever since.
#birds