Ospreys Return in Spring Migration
(PHOTO: Osprey in Rye Marshlands, April 2nd. Credit: eBird contributor Jorge Montalvo.)
We are entering spring bird migration, and one of the more noticeable birds to return the Rye in the last week or so is the Osprey. This writer saw his first osprey of the season last Tuesday at the Marshlands Conservancy. You’ll be seeing Ospreys busy building or rebuilding their nests over the next several weeks – they mostly return to the same nests or same tree (and rebuild the nest) each year.
eBird, a free online birding resource produced by the Cornell School of Ornithology, is an excellent resource for bird identification, migration patterns and other data. It includes a global collection of sightings, photos and audio files as well as a mighty collection of birding data about Rye.
You can view data on the local birding hotspots including Rye’s Marshlands Conservancy and Edith Read Sanctuary, two gems, and see what species are being seen by area birders. You can also view what is effectively a “birdcast” – a weather forecast for birds, showing when they arrive and depart the local area as part of their annual migration.
(PHOTO, below: a “birdcast” for the Osprey in the Marshlands Conservancy shows arrival late March / early April with departures slated for September.
Ospreys have also returned to a nesting platform at the Otter Creek sanctuary owned by the Westcchester Land Trust, which is off the Post Road on Taylor Lane in Mamaroneck. Parking is near the end of the “private” road. There are two platforms, but the Ospreys are on the one visible from the gravel driveway.