The fifth season of the Osprey Cam began on a chilly
day in early March, as the team assembled in the
meadow south of Betty Puleston’s barn in Brookhaven
Hamlet to re-install the camera and audio system onto
the nest pole. Typically the ospreys return from their
winter habitat around St. Patrick’s Day, and, true to
form, by mid-March an osprey pair was in residence on
the nest, and the annual cycle of courtship and mating
had begun. By mid-April three eggs were being cared
for on the nest. As in past years, the daily routine was
watched and reported on by a legion of devoted
observers on the internet. The online guest book on
the Osprey Cam site has entries from virtually every
time zone around the globe and, with hundreds of
observers making entries in the observation log, every
important event has been recorded, with notes from
eyewitnesses.
During the 2007 season two chicks were hatched, both
in late May. Both chicks successfully fledged, each
taking its first flight from the nest on July 19. The
young birds got their cram course in the lessons of life
during the final summer months, flying and fishing
over the Carmans River and the Great South Bay.
By mid-September all four of the nest’s occupants were
headed south, probably for the Caribbean or the
northern reaches of South America, each taking its
separate path. In October the camera was once again
removed for the winter.
The season was not without its unsettling moments.
On June 14 the adult female osprey was attacked in the
nest by an intruder bird, and for a time it appeared that
she had been badly injured. In the end all was
well – she had lain motionless for a long
period, shielding the chicks and causing a great
deal of concern among the watchers. During
this episode we received phone calls imploring
us to intervene to save the mother bird and
her chicks. A bad outcome would have been
heart-wrenching for our many observers, but
the strict philosophy of the Osprey Cam group
is not to interfere with the naturally occurring
events in the nest. (In fact, there was really
nothing we could have done in this case.) We
are mindful that nature can be a harsh and
sometimes violent place, and there is a blunt
disclaimer to that effect on the Osprey
Cam site.
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We have been fortunate over the five years that the
Osprey Cam has been operational that in each of these
seasons an osprey pair has settled in the nest and
successfully fledged at least two young, even though
not all of the hatched chicks have survived. The table
below summarizes the activity over five seasons in
Dennis Puleston’s osprey nest. It has been a fascinating
experience for a world-wide audience. With its large
following on the internet, as well as coverage in local
media, the Osprey Cam has met our most optimistic
goals as a means of educating the public about these
magnificent birds, and as a memorial to Dennis.
At its inception in 2003 the Osprey Cam was a unique
technical advance, providing a view of wildlife via live
streaming video and stereo audio to any computer in
the world through the internet. There are now a
number of wildlife “cams” on the internet with similar
excellent quality. We are pleased to have been
successful pioneers, and recognize that the project
cannot continue indefinitely. At its heart the Osprey
Cam is a computer project, and computer technology
typically gets old in a span of about 18 months. Our
camera site, and the group of dedicated volunteers that
maintain it, has had remarkable staying power. As this
is being written, we are making plans to re-install the
camera for its final season in 2008. We look forward to
yet another year in the breeding cycle of these
wonderful birds, and we want to give special
acknowledgement and thanks, on behalf of the
Post-Morrow Foundation, to the many donors who
have made this effort possible.
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