That Nesting Instinct

I live with many different kinds of birds. Some of them like me and some do not.  Every year the osprey couple return, this time with a juvenile, and they try to build a nest on the crane across the river. They have been unsuccessful for the past two years as the nest seems to eventually collapse due to the lack of a good support on the cranes arm even though it has an excellent view.  Last year two couples fought over the crane view.

This year, instead of using our boat cabin roof as a holding area for supplies of sticks and algae muck and grasses, they began to build a nest on the boat cabin roof itself.  We had been away for 5 days, and when we returned, they had added all the big sticks and were starting on the medium sticks in a circle.  One cannot disturb an osprey nest once they are nesting...but this was not that close.

It was with real dismay that hubby threw the sticks off the roof and scrubbed the roof from all the bird doo-doo, and then purchased some crazy thing that looks like an umbrella without the fabric, costs six times what an umbrella would cost, and attached it to the roof.  For at least two more days the osprey couple circled the boat diving down and making cries and dropping the odd stick or two until it appeared they had finally given up.

Each evening they sat on the snags across the river and called out with the sunset and I did not know where the new nest was or if they were even building a nest!   Last night he had a fish in claw and was bringing it to the female.  She flew away.  Maybe she is mad with distress and looking for a new partner?  It is not a happy place by the river these days.

Then within a few days they were back and beginning to drop all kinds of stuff on the roof.  Each day, actually several times a day, I would walk down to the dock and they would fly away and I would lower the boat and begin the process of cleaning the roof.  (We could move the boat, but hubby is away for a long time.)

My guilt got the better of me and I called around and did some research and found an organization that will get a permit and build an osprey nest platform, at NO SMALL cost, I might add.  I guess this is where my state tax refund will go.  Serves me right for loaning the government an interest free sum of money for a year!  I am beginning the process of mailing the nature biologists pictures of my shoreline area.   It is too late for this year as the permit process can only begin in the fall, but hopefully next year we will make amends for our sins and be osprey landlords providing free rent.  ( I will admit that watching an osprey family grow is a big motivation here.)

I slowly am winning the battle as I only have to make a trip once a day and the sticks are so few that perhaps that are actually building somewhere else and just using the boat as a meeting place to discuss building materials and argue over styles, expense and quality.