Miracle Osprey Rescue

Late Thursday afternoon an osprey was rescued near East Lake High School.  It was a miracle rescue.  A resident reported seeing the osprey on the ground under the light pole in their yard Thursday morning.  They were given a list of numbers to call in order to find someone who would rescue the bird.  The first on scene was the North Pinellas Humane Society.  When they approached the bird it flew away, with a leg that appeared to be dangling.  Chances of rescuing a flighted bird are next to nothing. 

I had been unavailable most of the day but was able to do a casual swing through that area around 4pm.  I had no cage, no gloves, no towel, no net and I was not anticipating a rescue.  I had little hope of even finding the bird at all, but luck was running the right way.  I stopped at the home where the osprey was reported and was taken to the spot the where osprey was last seen.  I peeked around a bit and saw this was a small pond with and island in the middle.  I wondered if the osprey had just gone to the center island or to the other side so I asked if we could go out to the docks which I had seen in my binoculars, the one thing I did have.

Meanwhile, I talked with the homeowners about how ospreys get broken legs. It is not usually from being hit by a car. Earlier this year an osprey had been rescued at the WTOG cell tower. The young bird had impaled his leg on a lightning rod. Tower climbers came from Bradenton and managed to get that osprey off the rod alive. The leg was fixable but unfortunately the bird died in surgery. Well, this certainly wasn't a tower injury. I explained that ospreys sometimes have fights with bald eagles, great horned owls and sometimes even with each other. This would be a likely injury from fighting with another bird of prey as they attack with their feet dashed up in front of them and they hit at full impact. A bald eagle has 300 pounds of pressure per square inch in its feet.

So, I asked if they had seen any eagles.  Yes! Today on the ground in the front yard! Not too far from the osprey!  This fully explains what happened to the osprey.  An eagle happened upon the osprey.  An eagle's nest is very close by along the edge of Lake Tarpon.  It is the largest nest in Pinellas County and it is fiercely defended.  The fight could have been territorial as the eagle pair is very close to hatching or it could have been a food fight and the osprey's leg was snapped, broken in the process.  Eagles are known for stealing fish from ospreys.

We walked south down the trail to the docks on the south side of the pond.  If I could have had all my wishes, I would have wished for someone who knew where the bird was, a net, a towel, a couple of great guys in a boat, and a box.  Well, as I said, luck was running the right way.  On the dock we had a resident fisherman that knew the osprey was on the center island near the edge, a net, and two great guys in a boat who could net the osprey.  The osprey was quickly captured, and transferred into a box previously used for Christmas decorations.  Wow! I did not expect the bird would even be found!  I hope the prognosis is as favorable. A wildlife veterinarian will examine and x-ray the osprey. 

Currently the osprey activity in Palm Harbor and Tarpon Springs is picking up as ospreys return to their nests from a long and sometimes distant hiatus.  This particular osprey had good weight and could be a female which has just returned to her mate.   Female ospreys are usually slightly bigger and heavier than their male counterparts.  It is called reverse sexual dimorphism.  Ospreys mate typically mate for life unless one mate dies.

To watch a local pair of ospreys live go to www.dunedinospreycam.org.