Smith Mountain Ospreys

In Smith Mountain Lake State Park, there is a nest of Ospreys, and there is a video cam set-up in order that whoever wished to follow the progress of the mom, dad, and three babies could do so. The nest sits high in the top story of a large pole.

Ospreys are raptors [meat eaters] whose principle diet is fish. Mom and dad both bring food to the babies. Then the parents continue their education teaching them to hunt. One of the lessons in this curriculum is, of course, how to fish. [Driving to the local seafood store is not an option.]

It was in the morning of July 5th, 2013, the morning following, being the celebratory eve of July 4th [read: fireworks, etc.] cam watchers were appalled to notice that the nest had suffered some damage, and that the three babies, there the day before, were gone!

Park Rangers were sent to search through waist-high grass, and, late that evening discovered two ‘chicks.’ [As of this writing, the fate of the third baby is unknown. It is hoped, however, that since he was the largest of the three, he may have successfully fledged and flown off.]

Sabrina got the word after dark that the two rescued Osprey were on their way to her sanctuary. She knows how difficult it is to rehab baby Osprey – and they are federally protected- she placed a call, even before the chicks arrived here, for prompt transportation to the Wildlife Center of Virginia, near Afton Mountain, about two hours from here.

Upon their arrival, we examined them immediately. Even as chicks, they stand some fourteen inches tall, with talons and beaks that brook no carelessness. We found dehydration, and evidence of early fly infestation.

We treated the flies as we could find, and gave them fluids; this by slipping a needle into a redundant flap of skin near their groin, and administering Lactated Ringers solution. Sabrina also gavaged them with food. This is a practice where appropriate, age-specific diet is administered directly into the crop via an expertly controlled metal tube. [Baby Osprey are impossible to feed any other way.]

The Wildlife Center was able to locate a boom truck and place the babies back in the nest. The parents returned and the babies successfully fledged a month later.