NATURALIST'S 



NOTEBOOK 



The 

 Osprey: 



A Conservation 

 Success Story 



A 



By Pam Smith 



J- nests go, this one is no archi- 



tectural masterpiece. It appears to have been 

 built haphazardly by unskilled laborers. Sticks 

 and twigs protrude beyond the platform that 

 tops a 35-foot utility pole at the North Carolina 

 Aquarium on Roanoke Island. 



Still, looks can be deceiving. A pair of 

 ospreys has called it home for more than two 

 decades. And the nest — constructed of tightly 

 woven materials — has withstood wind, weather, 

 and a move to a new perch when the aquarium 

 expanded in recent years. 



Joe Malat, aquarium exhibit curator, 

 marked March 2 on his calendar as the official 

 "homecoming" and the return of activity in the 

 nest for the 24th year. 



Though ospreys mate for life and return 

 each year to their established nest, it's not certain 

 that this is the original nesting pair because they 

 never were banded. The male, however, could 

 be an offspring since young males return to their 

 original nesting area to mate. 



In any case, Malat says, the nesting ospreys 

 create a lot of excitement among aquarium staff 

 and visitors alike. Perhaps it's because people 

 appreciate environmental good news. 



Initially, a static exhibit told of the effects 

 of the powerful pesticide DDT — Dichloro- 

 diphenyl-trichloro-ethane — on ospreys' ability 

 to reproduce. 



Continued 



This awesome male called Wilmington home for several nestingseasons. 

 Ospreys, known as sea hawks, return to the same nests year after year. 



Ken Blevim, Wilmington Star-News 



26 EARLY SUMMER 2004 



