Hard Parts of the Job

Working with osprey is not always a walk in the park. 95% of the time it is a blast but there are difficult days. Today was one of those days. An osprey chick was caught in the bailing twine at the nest at Western Sugar (the sugar beet factory). I want to start off saying how thankful I am for the great employees at Western Sugar. From the management to the main staff. These people genuinely care about the osprey that are on their property. I have personally met the manager and he has a solid history and care for wildlife. Today they went above and beyond the call of duty. They were very quick to notice that something was wrong with the osprey at their nest. The employees quickly notified management who in turn called Marco R., the bird bander for the osprey project, and Marco was on his way by about 9:30 this morning. I was in class while things were getting organized so I missed a call from both Marco and Kayhan but the second I got out of class I raced down to Western Sugar to help out Marco. They already had the Genie lift out with the osprey on the ground. That was huge of them to not only be quick to recognize something was wrong, but do what they can to help solve the problem. We took measurements on the bird and put a band on its non-injured leg to hopefully keep track of things. We then took the chick back up to the nest. It initially tried to fly away but ended up grounding. I think it was partially scared and unsure of the range of use of its injured leg. While it seems weird that we put it back in the nest even after an injury to the leg, there is a reason. Osprey don't do well in captivity. When I visited the Montana Raptor Conservation Center in Bozeman I saw various injured birds that were receiving medical attention. I noticed that most of the raptors seemed calm, except for the osprey. It never once seemed to stop moving or flapping its wings. So in the interest of this bird, we put the osprey chick back in the nest. This one could still grasp and move its talons so we can hope for the best. I trust that it is in good hands while at Western Sugar. The employees care about these osprey so I can rest assured knowing that it will be under constant supervision.

Putting the osprey back in the nest

Today really made me take a hard look at how and why I care for wildlife. It made me genuinely hurt inside when I saw it struggling the way it was. It looked terrified and I would be too if I had never been handled by a human before. Especially if I was injured. I might think it was my last day ever. But that really motivated me because while it was a human product (bailing twine), we as humans have the ability to make a difference and come to the aid of these animals. That's no excuse to not change our practices just because we can fix it. There is nothing efficient or ethical about that route. That is part of the reason I've been working to help solve the bailing twine issue. I will get into that later as it moves forward. But to the members of Audubon Society, I will get the pamphlets about osprey and bailing twine into the right hands. I can promise you that.

Thank you Western Sugar!