Thursday, May 24, 2012

New Nests

Yesterday, May 22nd, was an adventure.  I documented two new nests and for the first time experienced first-hand what it felt like to have an osprey dive-bomb at you. I will get to that later.

Yesterday showed a sharp contrast in osprey behavior and just how important the "family" structure is in osprey behavior.  Most of the nests I went to yesterday were in urban environments. They included the water treatment plant and railroads in Lockwood and Hardin, and the Audubon Center. The Audubon Center is unique in that habitat-wise it is natural. But high levels of human activity present an interesting dynamic.

First year nester at Audubon Center
This is the first time this platform has been used. I was actually at the Audubon Conservation Education Center the very first day it was occupied. I was attending a talk from a Rocky professor on paleoecology in the area for my plant ecology class.  The osprey had shown up, built a makeshift nest as part of the mating ritual and began mating within the hour. It was rushed because it was late in the year for them.  I can only speculate why. She did not have the typical orange eyes of a first year osprey, but she did have the buffy look to her.  The dynamic I mentioned was that she has the comfort of a natural habitat, but with the constant presence of humans. That said, she was chirping almost the entire time I was there. The male also left almost immediately when I got out of my car. She got defensive. Nearby, a group of children approached with binoculars from the opposite side as well.  You could see the desperation she was experienced as she quickly flattened herself out on top of her eggs. I really do hope they all hatch this year since this is the first time they have chosen this platform.

I also found a "new" nest yesterday. I say "new" for several reasons. This location has been used in the past, but not for the past two years. Also, the previous nest was abandoned and they had built another nest just 200 ft. away.  The way I found it was interesting.  The original nest is actually considerably high up on the bridge and difficult to see any activity from below. I started to cross the bridge in hopes of getting a better angle.  Now I'm not particularly good with bird calls (I am practicing everyday!), but I've been around osprey enough this year that I started picking up the alarm chirp. But I was confused because I had passed the nest and the sound was coming from in front of me.  So I looked up and there she was, already gazing intently at me. Now mind you, this is a remote location outside of Big Horn, MT. Human activity is next to none in this location and the nest is on a bridge directly above the Big Horn River so this is great habitat. She. Was. Angry.  Her male counterpart was not there even from the beginning. I even heard a new sound. I expected the typical alarm call when I approached to get a GPS point, but never before had I heard the alarm call turn into an outright squawk. At this point I didn't know what to do. I was too far away to get an accurate GPS reading, but I respect these birds. They are absolutely magnificent.  And I am even working on their behalf, but I had no way of conveying that to her. So I went closer. She left her nest and began circling me, never once breaking eye contact. I now understand what it means to be "watched like a hawk."

Mother Osprey protecting her nest

I finally reached the nest, hit "mark" on my GPS and that's when it happened. I looked up and she was flying directly at me and as she got about 20 feet away she put her talons forward to show how serious she was. I was actually scared. Osprey have incredible talons.

Zygodactyl layout


They are zygodactyl, as shown above. However, their talons are 3 to 4 inches and meant to catch fish. All I could do was back away quickly and it seemed to work. She kept up the alarm call for some time, but she eventually returned to the incubating position. That was a first for me.

This showed me a stark contrast in how osprey behavior is directly influenced by environment.  The nest at the ACEC had good habitat as did the nest on the bridge. But human activity was very different.  Males were also not present at both.  The osprey on the bridge was extraordinarily defensive and went out of her way to let me know she cared for her eggs whereas the osprey at the ACEC chose to not leave her nest and just observe her surroundings. It also makes me wonder if they seemed extremely defensive because the eggs are going to hatch here in the next week or two.

On a different note, I documented the nest in Hardin for the first time as well.  I'm somewhat familiar with Hardin because I know a family out there, but I was without a GPS point. I had a relative location and that proved enough.  I drove around, gave up and thought I would try a new tactic. Hardin is small. So I went into the visitor center by the museum and asked the lady at the desk if she had seen a nest. At first she said no. But then I described to her that it looked like a small eagle nest and was most likely on top of a power line. She immediately knew what I was talking about and told me exactly how to get there! It just goes to show that the scientific community does not and should not operate under the idea that they have a monopoly on scientific research.  Community involvement is very important. I may not have found it if I didn't ask a local.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Nest Observations Take 2

Today was the second time I've been out to see the osprey nests. The first time I went out to the nests was over my spring break during spring semester at the end of February. There was actually still some snow on the ground and osprey had not yet arrived.  Monty Sullins, one of the key coordinators of this project, allowed me to ride along in his truck for the day. The first thing I noticed was how much more familiar he was with where all of the nests were and even where some used to be.


For instance, I was completely unaware of where this nest was. I found the diversion bars put up by the power companies my first time out so I knew I was in the area, but not until Monty showed me.

My first time out all I had was a Garmin Nuvi and a list of GPS points. It took me two days and 18-19 hours of driving to figure out where all of them were and document them.  It was tricky because it's actually pretty hard to stop on the highway and Montana is notorious for the length between exits so I had a few turnarounds.  Today was much smoother.  I was impressed that almost all of these nests were found with the naked eye. It showed me how birding is a fine-tuned skill and goes so far beyond simply being able to identify a bird. It's knowing where to look and what to expect. Finding an osprey nest in the state of Montana really can be like finding a needle in a haystack. But a very prized needle nonetheless. Today we even documented two new nests.

Overall this year looks to be a success.  Out of the 17 nests we looked at today, only three of them appeared to be abandoned.  The rest of them had an incubating female that was curious about our presence and a male either perched beside her or hunting nearby.


This is what I mean but curious females. They know right away someone is approaching and start scolding you from about 200 ft. away.

If all goes according to plan, I will check out more of the nests in the eastern half of the state tomorrow. 

Sunday, May 20, 2012

A Little About Myself

Hey there. My name is Cameron Sapp and I just finished my 4th year at Rocky Mountain College. I'm pursuing a Bachelor's of Science in Environmental Science-Ecology option and Environmental Management and Policy. I was born in Laurel, MT and raised in Billings, MT since the age of three. Montana is my home and always will be.

“I’m in love with Montana. For other states I have admiration, respect, recognition, even some affection. But with Montana it is love. 
And it’s difficult to analyze love when you’re in it.”
           -John Steinbeck

I've been familiar with the outdoors for as long as I can remember. I spent every summer camping, hiking, fishing with my dad in the Absaroka-Beartooth Mountains. That is the one place in the world that I would always rather be.

I started out at Rocky wanting to be a pharmacist because I was foolishly attracted by the six-figure income. Nothing against pharmacists, but I made the mistake of pursuing a career based on selfish desires and not something I'm passionate about. I switched to environmental science my sophomore year. I started off taking Kayhan Ostovar's intro to environmental science course and knew instantly that this is what I want in life. I wasn't sure exactly what specifically, but definitely in this field. Fast forward to today and I now know that I want to be a non-game wildlife biologist.

I didn't always like birds. There-I said it. But I've never really been one to like anything until I experience on my own what something has to offer.  In the fall of 2012 I took Bird Conservation and Research.  The class was more based on the physiology and conservation attempts for birds than identification.  However, we did a fair amount of birding during that class to various areas such as Two Moon Park, Big Lake and Halfbreed Lake National Wildlife Refuge. It wasn't until spring semester that I took my dog for a walk at Zimmerman Park and watched a Red-breasted Nuthatch make a new home in a ponderosa pine that I realized there was something to this birding thing. Since then I've made a habit of taking my dog out on saturday mornings to a new place and watch birds. I'm still not very good, but practice makes perfect!