Some of the Ospreys nesting within the Three Rivers Park Distrcit boundries have been banded recently. These photos were taken Thursday at a nest site in Orono. Using lineman's gear, a climber takes young birds from the nest for application of two bands. The first is the standard federal numbered ID band, record of which is kept in Maryland. The second band has two large letters used to identify local birds. Park district personnel counted 108 Osprey nests this season, according to Judy Englund, who supervises the district's Osprey program. Birds using the nests produced 85 eggs. Not all nests were used.
When hold an Osprey chick, it's important to have a firm grasp of the bird's talons. The chicks are quite docile during the brief banding procedure, but you never know. The bird below is being held by Lizzie Nelson of Minneapolis. The Orono banding event had an invited audience of about 20 people.
Unhatched eggs found in Osprey nests are collected. Ms. England believes that the park district has the largest collection of Osprey eggs in the nation, with the exception of the Smithsonian Institution.
