Once again, St. George Islanders and the folks from the Apalachicola National
Estuarine Research Reserve have joined forces to rescue a nestling osprey from
stormy weather.
On Sunday, June 24, Rob and Kay Olin of St. George Island watched in horror as
an osprey nest they have enjoyed watching all season, fell.
Olin braved the storm surge bayside on the island to rescue the chick.
“I ran out there and it was chaos,” he said, “The nest was in a thousand pieces.
I stood there wondering ‘How am I going to find it?’ Then I saw the chick was
right in front of me. I picked it up and put it into a basket. Both parents were
circling frantically overhead. I held the baby up for the mother to see, wanting
to give her some hope.”
Olin vowed to return the chick to its parents.
That Sunday afternoon, Olin and family, with the chick, evacuated to
Tallahassee. Before leaving home, he was able to contact the Florida Wild Mammal
Association wildlife rescue facility (FWMA) in Wakulla County.
That Sunday evening around 9 p.m., Olin met Eric Lovestrand, a wildlife educator
at the research reserve, in Crawfordville. Lovestrand took the chick to Chris
Beatty, director of FWMA, where helpers were already overwhelmed dealing with
close to two dozen baby pelicans also rescued from Tropical Storm Debby.
Beatty said the osprey chick was a partially fledged nestling, which quickly
recovered given a little fish and some tender loving care.
On Tuesday, June 26, Olin had carpenter Red Blaisdell build a platform atop the
same standing dead pine that had held the original nest, but which was shorter
now, having lost its top to a storm. Blaisdell shortened it further to create a
flat surface to better support the nest box. Olin and Blaisdell reconstructed
the osprey nest as best they could.
On Wednesday morning, June 27 at 7:30 a.m. Lovestrand picked the osprey chick up
at FWMA, where Beatty now had more than 50 baby pelicans in-house.
Also that morning, Olin, at home on the island, observed the osprey parents in
the area of the nest platform.
At 1:00 p.m., Lovestrand delivered the chick and Blaisdell immediately placed it
in the new nest.
Olin, Blaisdell, Lovestrand, and Matt Anderson, a coworker from the research
reserve, kept vigil throughout the afternoon, watching over the chick and
scanning the sky.
Around 3:30 p.m., one adult osprey flew in, looked over the nest and flew away.
It returned shortly and perched in a tree nearby. A second osprey landed in tree
further away in the woods and they began calling back and forth.
Lovestrand, an experienced birder, noticed the chick, which had been bobbing up
and down before the adult bird arrived, flattened itself in the nest when the
big bird perched nearby.
The rescuers watched the scene for a nerve-racking hour.
Finally, the chick stirred. Lovestrand said, when the chick stretched its wings,
the nearest adult took flight out over the bay and began hover hunting for fish.
It returned around 4:30 p.m. with a fish, circled several times and then landed
on the nest.
In a few minutes, the other adult joined its mate on the platform.
“When the moment happened, it was unbelievably magical,” said Olin. “I had
wondered about Eric and Matthew waiting around all afternoon for the parents to
come back, but, when it happened, I realized this is what these guys live for.”
On Thursday morning, June 28, Olin awoke to a very happy scene of the osprey
family reunited. The adults preened and groomed the baby and fidgeted with the
nest, taking turns retrieving fish for their rescued youngster.
To view a gallery of photos of this rescue visit www.apalachtimes.com.
While this little osprey is happy and safe, FWMA is struggling with many more
animals that need help.
As of last week, they had received 54 pelican chicks and three adult pelicans; a
clapper rail, several other osprey chicks, a sooty tern, a snow egret, a screech
owl and more, all suffering the effects of wind and torrential rain. In all,
more than 70 Franklin County animals are sheltered there now and are consuming
75 pounds of fish daily. Many will be relocated to other shelters, but Beatty
said volunteers and any emergency funding would be gratefully welcomed.
Tax-deductible donations may be sent to Florida Wild Mammal Association, 198
Edgar Poole Road, Crawfordville, Florida 32327, or visit http://www.wakullawildlife.org/ and
use the Paypal button to make an instant donation.
