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April 12, 2007 - The Osprey DiariesThe Suffolk Times • April 12, 2007.7A The Osprey Diaries Now that most of our ospreys are back from their winter vacation, I thought it might be inter- esting to take a look back through the years and see the long and bumpy road these magnificent fish hawks had to overcome Focus to get where they are today and the help that they have ON received over the years from a concerned citizenry. NATURE My record book tells of 35 by Paul osprey platforms that were erected in our area. This does Stoutenburgh not include the ones that Bob Gloria put up in East Marion and Orient and all the others that were erected by local organizations, associations and private indi- viduals. Looking back, the first osprey record I have was when I first started "Focus on Nature." writing for the Sunday News - Review in Riverhead. In those days people called in their bird sightings and they were added to the article. The first observation of ospreys in our area was: March 19,1962: "Roy Latham —Orient —Osprey (2)" April 12, 2007 — Later Roy told me at one time he could see 19 osprey nests from his back porch. That alone shows the dramatic drop In the osprey population. We start our story today back about 30 years ago, when I retired in 1978 from teaching and had time to collect copies ofmy "Focus on Nature" articles that appeared in the Suffolk Times and put them together in a book. -PS March 23,1978: "For any big event there is usually much planning and getting ready. So it is with the coming of os- preys to our end of the island. Saturday there were reports of sightings in Orient. "This bird, sometimes called the fish hawk. has recently made small gains in its population so that its future now looks brighter. Because of its endan- gered species status, anything we can do to encour- age its development will help. "Therefore, many of us on the North Fork have been planning for new nesting platforms to be built before their arrival and subsequent nesting. LILCO was contacted, through Mr. John Tarduno, for a telephone pole. Under the direction of Jim Murphy of Laurel, the pole was delivered. A location was decided on and a raising date was set. "The site was in Husing Pond, a Nature Conser- vancy Preserve, on Peconic Bay Boulevard opposite the baseball field in Mattituck. We needed man- power, a pump to jet the pole in, a chain saw, tools of various description and lots of rope. It's remark- able to see how people can be counted on for this kind of project. The Carpenter family was out early that morning bicycling and we hailed them to help as they rode by'Why, of course; was their reply. And they joined us. "After much on -the -spot engineering and con- struction, the pole inched its way up, guided by spi- der -like lines in every direction. Finally in a vertical position with its new platform and a few sticks to make it more appealing, the pole was jetted through the ice and into the soft bog. It was an all- morning venture, but all agreed well worth the effort." April 12, 2007 - This Husing Pond platform is still in use today after almost 30 years It was straightened once by our grandson and some frlends -PS suffolktimes One of the early osprey platforms erected through the Ice in Musing Pond. Almost 30 years later this platform Is still In use. March 23, 1978, continued: "Out in Orient, Bob Gloria has developed a unique osprey platform that he's putting up in that area. It utilizes old four -inch galvanized irrigation pipe twenty feet long. This pipe idea is better than the telephone pole in that it's lighter and easier to work with. I helped him put one up and in less than an hour the job was done. These platforms have another good characteristic and that is that raccoons can't climb them. The wooden poles are just fine for raccoons to climb and many an os- prey has succumbed to this nighttime prowler. "With Bob's help, we're going to set a few of his poles in Southold where we lost two broods of ospreys in nests that had blown down in storms. Os- preys use the same site year after year and the addi- tion of new material puts a tremendous strain on the tree. This, coupled with the fact that they seem to like dead trees, puts many a nest in jeopardy. "The new platform nests that Mike Scheibel from DEC and Russ Hoeflich from the Quogue Wildlife Refuge were helping Bob raise on Saturday might not be esthetically correct, but with their treated wood and galvanized pipe they should last twenty years or more. "Peter and Kay Liss helped Bob on Saturday afternoon and became so involved that they have decided to put one of the poles up at Peconic Dunes, where they see ospreys fishing for carp in Great Pond by the County Park." April 12, 2007 —When that platform worked. Tim Gray. who lived nearby decided to put one up on his property. Tirn was invaluable over the years in build- ing and erecting many ofthe platforms on the North Fork. -PS March 23,1978, continued: "It does one good to become involved in projects such as this. All sorts of people give their time and effort to help with the cause. Men like Fred Terry and Bob Demarest, who contributed the pipe, are more than pleased to help. LILCO will bend over backwards to supply, and even put up, the poles. And, of course, people like George Husing, who supplied the jet pump for plac- ing the pole; Ralph Tuthill, project chairman for Hus- ing Pond, Barry Benjamin and Peter Stoutenburgh from Audubon; Jim Murphy and Jack Tandy from LILCO who supplied the expertise in pole raising; Roy Hendrickson, an engineer from Sperry; and our local Conservation Office, Bill Becker, all gave freely of their time. "Yes, it makes you feel good to be part of a team like this" March 19,1979: "There always was a pair of birds nesting out at Pete's Neck on an old wagon -wheel platform Elisha Haberman put up years ago. It has since rot- ted out and was replaced last year by Bob Gloria's anti - raccoon irrigation platform. The birds imme- diately took to it and this year it looks as if they're back again. Pretty good proof that Bob's design works well I'd say." March 6,1980: "The osprey production on Robins Island is the most rewarding of all areas on Long Island, rearing more young per nest than any other area, including Gardiners Island and Plum Island. There were three or four nests of breeding ospreys last year on the island and with encouragement surely this number would increase, and hopefully so, since they are now on the endangered species list of NewYork State." Follow us next week as we continue to see how the osprey makes out over the next few years, trying to make it back to where it once was. Catch Paul Stoutenburgh every week in TIMES /REVIEW NEWSPAPERS. Joseph L. Townsend INSURANCE Serving the North Fork since 1950 HOMEOWNERS • MARINE • AUTO - LIFE 800 -564 -0933 • 216 MAIN STREET, GREENPORT • 477 -0153 The Suffolk Times • April 12, 2007 The 6� sure Di rWa u^ t �Wyr'�M4" 1 ,___ ­1.4;" One of the early osprey platforms erected through the ice in Husing Pond. Almost 30 years later th platform is still in use. ^� w that most of our ospreys are oacx irum their winter vacation, I thought it might be inter- esting to take a look back through the years and see the long and bumpy road these magnificent fish hawks had to overcome FOGUs to get where they are today and the help that they have ON received over the years from, concerned. citizenry. NA"T"URE My record book tells of 35 b Paul osprey platforms that were Y erected in out area. This does Stoutenburgh not include the ones that Bob Gloria put up in East Marion ran Orient and.all the others that were erected by l organizations, associations and private indi- Looking back, the first osprey record I have wa! when I first started "Focus on Nature," writing for the Sunday News- Review in Riverhead. In those days people called in their bird sightings and they were added to the article. The first observation of osnrevs in our area was: March 19,1962: "Roy Latham — Orient — Osprey (2)." A,pri112, 2007 — Later Roy told me at one time, he could'see 19 osprey nests from his. back porch. That alone shows the dramatic drop in the osprey population. We start our story today back about 30 years ago, when I retired in 1978 from teaching and had time to collect copies of my "Focus oh Nature" articles that appeared in the Suffolk Times and put them together in a book. -PS March 23,1978: "For any big event there is usually much planning and getting ready. So it is with the coming of os- preys to our end of the island. Saturday there were reports of sightings in Orient. "This bird, sometimes called the fish hawk, has recently made small gains in its population so that its future now looks brighter. Because of its endan- gered species status, anything we can do to encour- age its development will help. "Therefore, many of us on the North Fork have been planning for new nesting platforms to be built before their arrival and subsequent nesting. LILCO was contacted, through Mr. John Tarduno, for a telephone pole. Under the direction of Jim Murphy of Laurel, the pole was delivered. A location was decided on and a raising date was set.. "The site was in Husing Pond, a Nature Conser- vancy Preserve, on Peconic Bay Boulevard opposite the baseball field in Mattituck. We needed man- power, a pump to jet the pole in, a chain saw, tools of various description and lots of rope. It's remark- able to see how people can be counted on for this kind of project. The Carpenter family was out early that morning bicycling and we hailed them to help as they rode by. `Why, of course,' was their reply. And they joined us. "After much on- the -spot engineering and con- struction, the pole inched its way up, guided by spi- der- like lines in every direction. Finally in a vertical position with its new platform and a few sticks to make it more appealing, the pole was jetted through the ice and into the soft bog. It was an all- morning venture, but all agreed well worth the effort." April. 12, 2007 — This Husing Pond platform is stil in use today after almost 30 years It was straightener once by our grandson and some friends. —PS March 23,1978, continued: "Out in Orient, Bob Gloria has developed a unique osprey platform that he's putting up in that area. It utilizes old four -inch galvanized irrigation pipe twenty feet long. This pipe idea is better than the telephone pole in that it's lighter and easier to work with. I helped him put one up and in less than an hour the job was done. These platforms have another good characteristic and that is that raccoons can't climb them. The wooden poles are just fine for raccoons to climb and many an os- prey has succumbed to this nighttime prowler. "With Bob's help, we're going to set a few of his poles in Southold where we lost two broods of ospreys in nests that had .blown down in storms: Os- preys use the same site year after year and the addi- tion of new material puts a tremendous strain on the tree. This, coupled with the fact that they seem to like dead trees, puts many a nest in jeopardy. "The-new platform nests that Mike Scheibel from DEC and Russ Hoeflich from the Quogue Wildlife Refuge were helping Bob raise on Saturday might not be esthetically correct, but with their treated wood and galvanized pipe they should last twenty vears or more. "Peter and Kay Liss helped Bob on Saturday afternoon and became so involved that they have decided to put one of the poles up at Peconic Dune where they see ospreys fishing for carp in Great Pond by the County Park." April 12, 2007 — When that platform worked, Tim Gray, who lived nearby, decided to put one upon his property. Tim was invaluable over the years in build- ing and erecting many of the platforms on the North Fork. —PS March 23,1978, continued: "It does one good to become involved in projects such as this. All sorts of people give their time and effort to help with the cause. Men like Fred Terry. and Bob Demarest who contributed the pipe, are more than pleased to help. LILCO will bend over backwards to supply, and even put up, the poles. And, of course, people like George Husing, who supplied the jet pump for plac- ing the pole; Ralph Ththill, project chairman for Hus ing Pond, Barry Benjamin and Peter Stoutenburgh from Audubon; Jim Murphy and Jack Tandy from LILCO who supplied the expertise in pole raising; Roy Hendrickson, an engineer from Sperry;,and our local Conservation Office, Bill Becker, all gave freely of their time. "Yes, it makes you feel good to be part of a team like this." March 19,1979: "There always was a pair of birds nesting out at Pete's Neck'on an old wagon -wheel platform Elisha Haberman put up years ago. It has since rot- ted out and was replaced last year by Bob Gloria's anti - raccoon irrigation platform. The birds imme- diately took to it and this year it looks as if they're back again. Pretty good proof that Bob's design works well I'd say." j March 6,1980: "The osprey production on Robins Island is the most rewarding of all areas on Long Island, rearing more young per nest than any other area, including Gardiners Island and Plum Island. There were three or four nests of breeding ospreys last year on the island and with encouragement surely this number would increase, and hopefully so, since they are now on the endangered species list of New York State." Follow us next week as we continue to see how the osprey makes out over the next few years, trying to make it back to where it once was.