'It Takes A Village — Or, In This Case, A Town': Hampton Bays Community Comes Together To Save Baby Osprey

HAMPTON BAYS, NY — The community joined hands and hearts recently to rescue a fallen baby osprey in Hampton Bays.

The Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center, Southampton Town Highway Department, and Hampton Bays School District successfully collaborated last week to return a fallen baby osprey to its 55-foot-high nest at the Hampton Bays High School football field, town officials said.

Subscribe

On Tuesday morning, July 14, a baby osprey fell from its nest atop a 55-foot light pole at the high school football field, town officials said.

A good Samaritan called the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center to report the distressed bird.

One of their rescuers responded and brought the young osprey back to the Center, where it was determined it was a healthy fledgling that simply needed to be reunited with its family, officials said.

Reaching the nest, however, "presented a major obstacle due to its extreme height," officials said. "Fortunately, the Southampton Town Highway Department was nearby conducting tree work."

Larry Luce, assistant superintendent for finance and operations at Hampton Bays Schools, approached Dan Rodriguez, a highway department bucket truck operator and Hampton Bays High School graduate, to enlist his help, officials said.

Southampton Town Highway Deputy Superintendent Marc Braeger "quickly greenlit the mission", allowing Rodriguez to perform the re-nesting, town officials said.

The baby osprey was named "Bubba" in honor of Michael DeRosa, "a beloved community member who recently passed away," town officials said.

Bubba was transported back to the high school, "wrapped safely like a baby package delivered by a stork", and given to Rodriguez, officials said.

Operating the bucket with one hand while securing the bird in the other, Rodriguez ascended 55-feet in the air, where the mother osprey was watching anxiously, officials said.

"Mama left the nest to allow Dan the room to approach and he placed the bundle on the nest, and 'unwrapped' the baby," town officials said. "As soon as the bucket moved back away from the nest, the mother osprey flew back and joined her offspring. Bubba will now be watching over the Hampton Bays sports fields for many years to come."

Kathleen Mulcahy, executive director of the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center, reflected on the the re-nesting: "This is a perfect example of 'It takes a village', although in this case, a town, to help a family in distress. This baby needed to go back, and the Center, the school administration and the town didn’t let a 55-foot obstacle get in the way of re-uniting the young osprey with its parents."

"This is a true community success story and I want to thank everyone involved," said Southampton Town Councilman Bill Pell. "Your fast action ensured a happy ending for our local osprey family. It is great to see our town department, local wildlife center, and school administration work so well together so well."

The Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center in Hampton Bays said it rescues, rehabilitates and releases thousands of animals on the East End every year. Already this season, 1,284 animals have been admitted at the Center, including 10 osprey, with five of those, including Bubba, having been released or re-nested.

Jessica Chiarello, hospital supervisor, said that osprey typically do not do well in any type of captivity, and that in the case of a juvenile "we need to do everything in our power to get them back to the nest as quickly as we can so they can learn to be a healthy fish-hunting raptor."

The Center is open 365 days a year and has a 24-hour hotline for injured animals - 631-728-WILD.