March 2015
Sanibel Island, Florida • www.ospreys.com
The Magnificence of
Peregrine Falcons and Osprey
Aerial battle between a bald eagle and an osprey by William Heyd
W
illiam
E. Heyd
will
be the featured
speaker at
the annual
meeting of The
International
Osprey
Foundation on
March 22.
His topic is
William Heyd, the speaker at
“Images to Inspire: the TIOF annual meeting on
The Magnificence March 22
of Peregrine
Falcons and Osprey.” Using his own photographs
and research, Heyd will describe the history of
peregrines in the U.S., with emphasis on nesting
in urban settings; and nesting of osprey.
“I have traveled extensively in Michigan,
An osprey carries a fish in its talons
southern Florida, Southeast Arizona, the Texas
Gulf Coast and Rio Grande Valley, northwestern
Ohio, the U.S. East Coast, and other locations to
photograph wildlife and nature,” he says. And
his passion has been much aided by advances in
technology.
He says, “Today’s sophisticated digital
SLR (single-lens reflex) cameras are really
computers. The CanonEOS1DX SLR which I use
today, and the predecessor Canon EOS7D, include
a continuous focusing mode which can take up to
twelve images per second, continuously focusing
for each exposure. This facilitates photographing
flying birds, dragonflies, butterflies, dancers,
soccer players, and the like.
“The 7D and especially the 1DX, can capture
suitable images under lower light conditions, e.g.,
photographing owls or sandhill cranes at dusk. I
use a Canon 100 to 400 mm image-stabilizing
zoom lens with either camera to shoot hand-held
in a wide variety of photographic
opportunities. Just ten years ago
TIOF ANNUAL MEETING
I don’t think that I could have
The International Osprey Foundation annual meeting
imagined using such powerful
will take place on Sunday, March 22 at 7 p.m. at The
capabilities,” says Heyd.
Community House, 2173 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel.
He will talk about the four
A short business meeting will precede the featured
P’s of his work – be prepared,
speaker’s presentation.
be patient, be persistent, be
A $3 donation is requested of non-members.
passionate.
March 2015 - The International sprey Foundation
“I do not use a flash or make noises in wildlife
photography,” Heyd notes.
A Ph.D. scientist (though not an ornithologist
or biologist), Heyd has had a lifelong interest in
wildlife and the outdoors, as well as photography,
which he has pursued more fully in recent years.
His images have appeared in several
solo exhibits, nature publications and he has
presented them to several Audubon and birding
groups. Fledgling
Numbers Down
O
n Sanibel, just 62 osprey chicks
survived to leave their nests in 2014,
down from 97 in 2013. That’s the
collective data from six TIOF monitoring
groups that cover the island. It’s the fewest
fledglings since 2007 – a year of persistent
red tide - when the total was 45.
The groups observed 113 nests, of which
64 were active, which means nesting activity
was observed.
They also reported that two eaglets
fledged, compared with four the previous
year.
continued on page 2
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From page 1
Fledgling
Numbers
Nest Watch Data For 2014
Sanibel
2014
62
2013
97
2012
125
2011
122
2010
100
2009
104
2008
79
2007
June Franklin and Sandy Ent have been monitoring
osprey nests on Fort Myers Beach for five years
On Fort Myers Beach it was a similar story.
The single team of June Franklin and Sandy Ent
reported 34 fledged ospreys in 2014, down from
48 the previous year.
“We observed 27 active nests that produced
34 fledglings. There were originally 30 nests, but
three were started and later abandoned,” Franklin
said about the 2014 results. Interesting because
we had 3 more nests last year (2014), yet 14 less
chicks.”
45
2006
90
2005
85
Fort Myers Beach
2014
34
2013
2012
48
24
2011
2010
38
21
El Nino Connection May
Affect Nesting Stats
T
his is an excerpt from a column by Mark ‘Bird’ Westall, project director
for TIOF, that appeared in the Island Sun on Sanibel. It may help to
explain the reduced number of osprey chicks that fledged last winter.
Westall believes there may be an El Nino connection.
The Canary In A Coal Mine
Have you ever heard the phrase “canary in a coal mine”? Back in the
1800s, canaries or mice were placed in cages deep in the coal mines of
the Appalachian Mountains to act as an early indicator of dangerously
high levels of poisonous gases. Supposedly those creatures are more
sensitive to a toxic environment than humans and, hopefully, could give
the working miners a heads-up when carbon monoxide levels got too
high.
Last week, I wrote about wood storks being “indicator species”
mirroring the health of south Florida’s wetlands. In a sense, the storks,
and other indicator species, are our “canaries in the mine” when it comes
to the health of the natural environment.
And the storks are not doing so well. Monitoring the well-being
of the life around us can give us humans an indication of how we are
doing in managing the delicate balance of the natural world. The more
we understand how life functions and works, the more efficient we can
become in managing those resources.
That is the reason why I began monitoring the ospreys here on
Sanibel in 1979. Being high-order predators (like us), the concept is
that if they are doing ok, then so is the environment around us. And
that argument still remains valid to this day, so the Osprey Foundation
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continues to monitor the reproductive success of the birds here on
Sanibel with the help of approximately 30 to 40 volunteers.
We have 35 years of records tabulating how many nests are active
on the island and how many chicks were fledged. At first glance, every
indication from that monitoring is that the osprey have been doing well.
Mostly due to the artificial platform program (they produce twice as
many chicks as natural sites), the occupied territories for nesting ospreys
has expanded from thirty-five nests in 1979 to over 113 in 2014. As long
as we have the platforms and the fish supply in the Pine Island Sound
estuary remains healthy, I think the ospreys will continue to do well.
It is interesting to note, however, that there seems to be some sort of
connection between osprey productivity and the Southern Oscillation
(El Nino). El Niño is an above-average warming of the equatorial waters
of the Pacific and its effect on Sanibel can be that our normal weather
patterns go haywire. Typically, we experience less tropical weather
(hurricanes) during the summer, but increased poor weather during the
winter.
I clearly remember the winter and spring of 1982-83 when, instead of
our normal 10 inches of rain during the winter, Sanibel received 28 inches
that year. The weather that winter was so bad the ospreys could not catch
enough food to feed themselves and their young. Normal chick mortality
in the nest for ospreys is around 33 percent; that year they suffered 65
percent. Then again, just prior to the El Nino of 1997-98, the ospreys
experienced poor productivity.
Now in the spring of 2014, productivity has once again crashed. This
year, the ospreys only fledged 62 chicks compared to 97 last year. And the
weather folks are telling us that a very strong El Nino is building up in the
Pacific. Maybe we are headed for a hot, drier summer and more rain-filled
cold-fronts this coming winter.
We’ll have to wait and see.
March 2015 - The International sprey Foundation
John Spruill rescues a young osprey from the water
in Hampstead, NC
North Carolina
Osprey Rescue
J
ohn Spruill, one of our members, tells us in
his own words of an osprey rescue last July
in Hampstead, NC, that, sadly, did not have a
happy ending.
“LuAnne Zambrowski, her son Michael,
Jenny and I teamed up to rescue this osprey
twice - Saturday and today. LuAnne perfected
the capture and nest placement technique on
Saturday. Each time, we got it back in its nest
successfully.
“Yesterday it had strong flights. But this
morning it fell into the drink while on a flight. Its
parents feed it upon its return.
“It has made no attempt to put its fierce
weapons to work once we have it held properly
and firmly.
Let’s hope it concentrates on its future as a
naval aviator and avoids training as a destroyer
sailor.”
In a follow-up, Spruill wrote:
“Sad osprey news . . . This morning the
osprey died in the owl’s nest in our yard.
Yesterday morning it ate its flounder with
gusto. But late in the day it ignored the beautiful,
John Spruill rescued this osprey twice
March 2015 - The International sprey Foundation
fresh bluefish we put in the nest. We were very
concerned. When it was not visible from a
distance this morning, I climbed the ladder and
found it dead. It had not touched the bluefish.
But there were not even any bones left from the
Jumping mullet or flounder that it has eaten
over the last two days.
“There continued to be no signs of any
injury or disease. So the cause of its death is a
mystery. Before rigor mortis set in, I made these
measurements: wingspread, 53 inches; head-totail length, 21 inches.
“The bird is in our freezer awaiting pickup
by, or delivery to, the Ornithology Research
Curator at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences
in Raleigh. Perhaps he will provide insight as to
why the osprey died.”
years as both treasurer and president. She has
volunteered for a Florida dog rescue group and
fostered numerous Chihuahuas.
She has also been involved with Hope
Hospice for 15 years. For the past 6 years I have
been involved with their Parkinson’s program
and leads a weekly motion class.
She’s also one of our nest monitors.
New Board
Members
Susan and Dave Richard ready their boat for a nest
check trip on Clam Bayou
All Aboard
For Nest Checks
O
Susan Peterson-Tucker and Carol Gestwicki, new
TIOF board members
C
arol Gestwicki and Susan Peterson-Tucker
joined the board of The International
Osprey Foundation late in 2014 and we
are proud to have them.
Born in Hamilton Ontario, Carol Gestwicki
and her late husband Ron moved to Sanibel for
winters in 2001. Her career was spent first in
pediatric nursing in Toronto, New York City and
Namibia, and then, after graduate work, on the
faculty of early childhood education at Central
Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, NC
On Sanibel, Carol is an osprey nest monitor,
a trail guide for SCCF, a monofilament buster
for the “Ding” Darling Refuge, a member of
the Zonta board and of the team that goes off
island each week to teach English as a second
language to Spanish-speaking HeadStart
mothers.
Susan Peterson-Tucker was born in Long
Island, New York and after graduation worked
as a CPA in Sag Harbor and Atlanta. After
earning an MBA in finance, she worked for an
international automotive parts company as VP
of Finance and Operations.
She retired to Sanibel in 2000 and began
volunteering at CROW, where she cleaned cages,
rescued animals, fed baby birds, worked events
and eventually served on the CROW board for 6
ne of Sanibel’s six nestwatch groups
actually launches a boat to make their
observations.
That’s the team that includes Susan and Dave
Richard, whose boat they use, Doris Hardy and
Sam Tischler.
“We cover all of Clam Bayou - any nest on
the shoreline or in Clam Bayou itself – 10 nests
active as of January. We go out every two weeks,”
said Hardy.
LIFE MEMBERS
Mr. and Mrs. Porter Goss
Dr. Eugene Majerowicz
Harvey Rothstein
Charles Rubright
Jim Fowler, San-Cap Nature Calendar
Ms. Margaret Smith
Mrs. Carmen Sanchez
Mr. and Mrs. William Alquist
Dwight Anderson
Mr. and Mrs. David Ladd
James and Martha Kannry
Robert and Rita Southern
RJW Foundation
Brenda and Sam Tischler
Don Scott
Tim and Carol Gardner
David Loveland
Dick Preservati
Dr. Jorge and Sofija Galante
Nancy Clark
Dianna Andrews
TIOF BOARD
PRESIDENT
- Jim Griffith
VICE PRESIDENT
& NEWSLETTER
EDITOR
- Anne Mitchell
TREASURER/
SECRETARY - Inge Glissman
PROJECT DIRECTOR - Mark “Bird” Westall
VOLUNTEER
COORDINATOR - Debbie Friedlund
- Susan Tucker
- Carol Gestwicki
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