July 2-Tragedy Strikes!

Excited about the possibility of seeing the chicks take their first flight, Dawne and I got up and left home early (OK, early for us) to be at the soccer field for 0800.  We saw baby wings, signs of movement and were excited.  It looked like maybe mama had left the nest or was lying low since we could not hear or see her.  Papa stood a lonely vigil on the platform nearby, built by the Loyalist Township and deliberately unused for nesting by the Ospreys :-)

We saw signs of the chicks, peeking their heads up.  We stayed for an hour and had a great morning....

But there was something different about the nest.  On the west side, something was hanging down a few feet.  We argued good naturedly what is was.  Dawne steadfastly insisted it was a fish, left there to entice the chicks to fly and look for the source of the food smell.  I was equally insistent that "Fish don't have feathers".  My belief was mama was sleeping, and since we had never seen her sleep, draped over the edge was not out of the question.  It was a question we could not resolve until we went home and saw the pictures.

This is one of the few times in my life I really really wish my wife was right.  When we got home, we saw this picture (above) and knew it was mama.  But we thought she was tired, "hiding" or laying low to entice the kids to fly.  Given her aerobatics and vocalizing the day before, we knew she was healthy then....So we went back at 4Pm...and saw...

This is when I made the first call to Sue Meech of Sandy Pines Wildlife Center in Napanee.  We had heard about her after her rescue of Alby the Albatros.  She gave me a little advice, recommended I see if Hydro could help and basically left me to muddle my way through on my own.  Somehow, as some regular joe on the street, with no contact, it was left to me to arrange a vehicle that could get a person 50 feet up a pole, on a long weekend, fighting my way though red tape, regulations, ennui, and migratory bird protection laws.  It is a good thing Osprey are a respected bird or I never would have been able to get the help I needed.  I understand that one person can not do everything, and have nothing but respect for Sue and all the other people I contacted, but I was surprised that there was no magic number to call and hand the problem over to.  throughout the process, everyone I contacted said they wished they could help, but most were unable to by lack of resources or fear of the fines from messing with migratory birds.

After supper, hoping for the best but starting to fear the worst, I returned for an update look. 

And while I was there, I found this lovely fireworks canister.  and the theory Dawne had proposed of "maybe she was hit by fireworks" became an all too possible fact.

That night at 11PM, I sent out the following e-mail to some diverse groups and government agencies to see if I could get some help.

I do not know if this is something you can help with or not, but there is an injured or likely dead Mother Osprey, with 3 chicks, at the ball diamond in Amherstview (Around 103 Amherst Drive). I fear the chicks will be doomed unless they can be rescued since the dad seemed to be very confused and just sat watching all day today and with 6 hours of watching spread out over the day, we saw no food delivered to the chicks and not a sound or movement from the mom!

Photo’s taken today can be seen at https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/5mpOkCy7MOZp-Ntd9B4o1g?feat=directlink

I hope someone can help give these young birds a fighting chance!

I have tried calling many numbers, but so far only have been able to talk to Sandy Pines who have not been able to help as of yet.

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Jean-Guy and Dawne Pitre

613-384-xxxx (Home)

613-449-xxxx or 613-449-xxxx (Cell if we are watching our chicks!!!)

.........

And so ended the saddest day of bird watching in my life...