This piece was meant to be written about a lovely afternoon walk at the Trustom Pond Wildlife Refuge... But that beautiful walk, plus several osprey-theme licence plates I've seen on cars around town, and a bit of research, have instead prompted me to pass on this good news: the osprey population in the Ocean State has been rescued from the brink, thanks to over 30 years of targeted protection programs by environmental groups.
There is a lovely viewpoint at the edge of Trustom Pond in South Kingstown, complete with a spotting scope attached to the platform. To the naked untrained eye, the scene directly across the way consists of a small row of leafless trees, with bare branches spreading out in all directions, forming a sort of island in the middle of the pond. But look through the scope, and you'll see that the one slightly denser-looking cluster of treetop branches is actually a massive osprey nest, with its graceful guardian sitting atop.
While this particular nesting site was formed naturally, human-made osprey nests are also now ubiquitous in protected areas across the state. You've probably seen them: tee-pee style or single-pole support structures in marshes, in ponds, and alongside rivers, with a tangle of large branches clustered in the middle. It hasn't always been this way of course; widespread efforts to protect the osprey in RI began in 1977, after it was discovered that the pesticide DDT was causing osprey eggshells (and the eggshells of other birds of prey) to be too thin, and thus too weak to support the weight of the nesting mother osprey without cracking. Countless birds were lost this way, a direct result of human activity.
Groups like the Audubon Society, who helped to ban further use of DDT in the US, came together to develop the RI Osprey Monitoring Program. Now, after 33 years of intervention and nest monitoring, 171 new osprey young were observed in 2010, up from just 13 back in 1978! Narragansett and Barrington each saw 21 new hatchings last year, with South Kingstown coming in first with 27. The full osprey monitoring report for 2010 is available from the Audubon Society of RI.
According to a recent report from EcoRI, 89 successful nesting sites have been recorded across Rhode Island. It is a joy to spend a few peaceful afternoon moments on Trustom Pond observing one of these nests from the view deck, especially now in early spring, when a mere handful of visitors wander about the lovely refuge. That affords plenty of quiet time to take a close look at the beautiful birds -- sharply hooked beak, dark patch of feathers on the forehead and striped across the eyes, white front with a mottled upper chest, dark wings, yellow eyes -- and appreciate the hard work that environmentalists have done to save them from possible extinction.
If you would like to support the ongoing efforts of the Audubon Society to monitor the osprey and to carry out its other environmental education programs in Rhode Island, consider ordering an osprey license plate. At the very least, give yourself a minute to stop and marvel at this regal bird, and give thanks for the osprey's presence.
Comments