Project RedBand alumni update
by Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager
Ospreys are in the news again. This time it is not so pleasant news, or at least news that is hard to swallow for some, where an adult bald eagle predated a young osprey at Hog Island in Bremen, Maine. While it can be a traumatic thing to witness firsthand, it is pretty common where the range of ospreys and bald eagles overlap. We are only witnessing it because of technology. It can and has happened right here in New Jersey too. Last year, I found an adult female who had lost her wing. With no other way for that to happen (on the open saltmarsh, and her wing was gone), the only suspect is an attack by a bald eagle. As both the eagle and osprey population continue to grow, there will only be more interaction between the two species as they are competitors for food and bald eagles are opportunistic scavengers.
In other more local osprey news, on the afternoon of July 25th I got the most unfortunate news. Osprey 39/D was found dead near the nest where he fledged just two weeks ago. If you are not familiar with this bird, it is one who has graced the pages of the Asbury Park Press, The Sandpaper, and many other news networks online. His daring rescue was viewed over 2,800 times.