Barb Walker's note with photos of Osprey nest platform

[NewMexiKen]

Barbara transmits some sad news about eagles and ospreys, but also has
photos of a nest platform. If our local Pembroke Pines nest tree were to
blow over, this sort of platform could provide an alternative site, as
eagles often will rebuild near a former nest if there is a suitable
place for a nest.

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Happy New Year
Date: Fri, 31 Dec 2010 21:58:55 -0500
From: Barb Walker

I'm trying to get this out to all my raptor friends in Pinellas, Pasco,
Hillsborough and Polk and elsewhere...sorry, it is the good and the
bad...more on eagles in January.  One really great bit of good news.  
Honeymoon Island hatched! And - if you want a great view of the Progress
Energy Power Plant nest and don't want to worry about parking... take
the eco-tour boat out of Tarpon Springs. http://www.sunlinecruises.com/

Well, I wrote this yesterday and a couple of unfortunate incidents have
prevented me from getting it out to you.  For one my computer hung up
right before we went out on a recon eagle mission in Tarpon Springs.  
Ended up at Captain Jacks with no hurt eagles so that was good.  The
computer still has a long way to go, but I think I'll be able to get
this out tonight.

This afternoon ended up with tears out in Safety Harbor for an osprey
which died on the ball field lights.  A recovery mission is not yet
underway, the osprey is still hanging there, but I've enlisted the help
of David Witte of Progress Energy, (who was wonderful and on the way as
usual) and the City of Safety Harbor and whichever contractor they have
to use.  It is just not getting done quite as fast as I hoped and not
the way I like to see a New Year start. It does remind me of what the
birds out there face every day though.  I had words with the sheriff
while I was out there, but he kept saying this was nature, and I kept
explaining to him that ospreys hung up/possibly impaled on lights is not
nature, and that the mate was stressed.  He wasn't getting it, I don't
think.  Hollered I was going to be contacting the Mayor as I was
leaving. I did too.  The whole commission actually.  Hopefully, the bird
won't wait until Monday.  But in any case, my communication was aimed to
prevent this in the future and I leave there convinced there is a lot of
work to be done there.  There aren't enough hours in a day!  Keeping
wildlife safe takes a commitment - from everyone.

I did hear back about the nest on the lines at the MacDonald's on Tampa
Road and Burbank in Oldsmar.  Stanley Kroh from TECO responded and asked
that I be kept informed about the nest on the lines there.  I had
suggested that since a POND was put in there and it seems they are
playing musical chairs on the lines over there that they put some
platforms in the right of way around the pond.

Will keep fighting over HL4 and HL43.  HL4 FAILED!  That is after
finding all the roosting and nest tree dead suddenly on the property
which is for sale.  I do suspect a pine disease in that area and
suggested TECO look into some eagle habitat restoration in that area.  I
am going to put together a document for TECO, including the IUA with
recommendations for their APP that the biologist might have missed
several years ago.  Things have changed.

This morning started off right.  We had an osprey on THE platform.....
read below to see the nice message I had initially planned to
send....the habitat loss crept in there anyway.

Happy New Year to everyone.  (12/30)

Thought you all might enjoy the pictures of the osprey platform
installed at Cypress Woods Elementary School this morning.  The
platforms are really big when you see them at ground level.  They look a
lot smaller than that when we are whizzing by them 60 feet below.  There
is a pair of eagles nesting on a platform like this in central Florida
at a Progress Energy substation. Please let me know if you see any nests
on power lines.

Ospreys are getting very busy and beginning to swoop low over the roads.
I saw one killed on the Bayside Bridge a couple of weeks ago.  About 90%
of the population seems to be attending to their nests in Pinellas.  The
ospreys at the osprey cam should lay eggs soon, it was a year ago today.
www.dunedinospreycam.org <http://www.dunedinospreycam.org>.

Eagles are beginning to hatch.  Some are beginning to incubate.  Some
are failing.  It might not be a huge number for the ones that are
failing, but the reasons are troubling.  Well, actually in Hillsborough
it might even be a higher number than I think we anticipated.  It seems
quite a few cell tower nests that were active went inactive.  Where are
all the eagles?

While we finish collecting all this great data on eagles and osprey I am
already thinking about Hummingbirds, Swallow-tailed Kites and Least
Terns, my favorite birds to track in spring and summer of NEXT year.  
Hopefully we'll have lots of good and exciting news to send out next
year and we will accomplish a lot through conservation and education.  
Happy New Year to Everyone! Thank you for all you do, for all the help,
for all the support, for everything. Call anytime, you all know that I'm
sure.  I'll be in the field lots January.

Barb Walker

New Cell Phone [phone]

Home 727-789-0183

[NewMexiKen]

Barb has discovered a serious problem that caused the death of the Osprey-- she writes:

As you can see the cause of my distress yesterday regarding the osprey got a
whole lot worse when I discovered the cause of the impalement.  The Safety
Harbor City Park has lots of bird spikes, some of them are in the middle of
nesting platforms which I totally do not get.  There is barely a safe spot
for an osprey to land out there.  They are being totally set up. I do not
know who is responsible for this but hope they can reverse this immediately
and take all the spikes down as I have requested.  I just can't help it but
I am horrified!

Barb Walker


-----Original Message-----
From: Barb Walker
Sent: Saturday, January 01, 2011 2:54 PM
To: 'Matthew Spoor'; 'Commissioner Williams'; 'Commissioner Bandoni'; 'Vice
Mayor Ayoub #2'; 'Mayor Steingold'; 'Commissioner Besore #2'; 'Commissioner
Besore'; 'Commissioner Bandoni'; 'Vice Mayor Ayoub'; 'Andrea Norwood'
Cc: '[e-mail]'; 'Morse, Gary'; 'Zeigler, Corey';
'Witte, David'
Subject: Emailing: Safety Harbor City Park has a bigger problem to address!
I'm so sorry!

Dear Mayor Steingold, Honoroable Commissioners, City Manager Spoor,

I went back to the park today to check the pole height and check what the
route might be in and out for a truck with a lift.  I realized that the
problem is really much bigger than just the one osprey.  The osprey perished
because it is impaled on a bird spike.  I started looking around and I saw
how many bird spikes there are out there. They are even coming up through
the osprey platform nests. They are being totally set up to land on bird
spikes. In this instance, it is so bad, and the timing is so critical,
osprey hormones are running high. They are all just returning to their nests
and beginning courtship and mating rituals.  I am asking that the City of
Safety Harbor remove the spikes immediately.  While I was at the park, both
my daughter and I saw one of the birds land on its nest and the wing came
within a couple of inches of a spike.  This area is dense with ospreys and
is an unsafe area for them and their young.

If Parks and Rec is trying to find solutions to the ospreys at the ball
fields I would like to work on a long term plan with them for that.  There
are other solutions.  I am sorry to present this to you on New Years but it
really is a very bad problem that must be addressed immediately.  Please
read the attached article from earlier this year.

Thank you,
Barbara Walker

http://www.tampabay.com/news/environment/wildlife/bird-lovers-take-aim-at-deadly-spikes/1110006

[barbibird]

Hi Ken,

 

The spikes are lightning rods placed without thought for the nesting birds.  We found protector caps online and suggested moving those in the middle of nests.  What a mess!!!

 

Barb

 

From: NewMexiKen [via Bald Eagles of Broward County, Florida] [mailto:[hidden email]]
Sent: Sunday, January 02, 2011 6:08 AM
To: barbibird
Subject: Follow-up re: Osprey Death was due to impalement on bird spikes

 

Barb has discovered a serious problem that caused the death of the Osprey-- she writes:

As you can see the cause of my distress yesterday regarding the osprey got a
whole lot worse when I discovered the cause of the impalement.  The Safety
Harbor City Park has lots of bird spikes, some of them are in the middle of
nesting platforms which I totally do not get.  There is barely a safe spot
for an osprey to land out there.  They are being totally set up. I do not
know who is responsible for this but hope they can reverse this immediately
and take all the spikes down as I have requested.  I just can't help it but
I am horrified!

Barb Walker


-----Original Message-----
From: Barb Walker
Sent: Saturday, January 01, 2011 2:54 PM
To: 'Matthew Spoor'; 'Commissioner Williams'; 'Commissioner Bandoni'; 'Vice
Mayor Ayoub #2'; 'Mayor Steingold'; 'Commissioner Besore #2'; 'Commissioner
Besore'; 'Commissioner Bandoni'; 'Vice Mayor Ayoub'; 'Andrea Norwood'
Cc: '[hidden email]'; 'Morse, Gary'; 'Zeigler, Corey';
'Witte, David'
Subject: Emailing: Safety Harbor City Park has a bigger problem to address!
I'm so sorry!

Dear Mayor Steingold, Honoroable Commissioners, City Manager Spoor,

I went back to the park today to check the pole height and check what the
route might be in and out for a truck with a lift.  I realized that the
problem is really much bigger than just the one osprey.  The osprey perished
because it is impaled on a bird spike.  I started looking around and I saw
how many bird spikes there are out there. They are even coming up through
the osprey platform nests. They are being totally set up to land on bird
spikes. In this instance, it is so bad, and the timing is so critical,
osprey hormones are running high. They are all just returning to their nests
and beginning courtship and mating rituals.  I am asking that the City of
Safety Harbor remove the spikes immediately.  While I was at the park, both
my daughter and I saw one of the birds land on its nest and the wing came
within a couple of inches of a spike.  This area is dense with ospreys and
is an unsafe area for them and their young.

If Parks and Rec is trying to find solutions to the ospreys at the ball
fields I would like to work on a long term plan with them for that.  There
are other solutions.  I am sorry to present this to you on New Years but it
really is a very bad problem that must be addressed immediately.  Please
read the attached article from earlier this year.

Thank you,
Barbara Walker

http://www.tampabay.com/news/environment/wildlife/bird-lovers-take-aim-at-deadly-spikes/1110006

Ken Schneider
Web site: http://rosyfinch.com
Blog: http://blog.rosyfinch.com

 

 

---

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[NewMexiKen]

Bird lovers take aim at deadly spikes
EXCERPT-- Click Here for full article


By Martine Powers, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Wednesday, July 21, 2010

CLEARWATER

In the world of birds vs. bird control spikes, every story seems more gruesome than the last.

In one, a spike tears through the webbing of a bird's feet.

In another, a dead pelican hangs from the top of a boat piling, the pouch of its bill snagged on a steel prong.

Larry O'Brien of Dunedin watched in horror as a seagull swooped low and tried to land on a pole in Anclote Key River Park.

"The spike proceeded to tear his wing right off his body," said O'Brien, 60, a boater and birdwatcher. "I got the bird and took it down, but it had to be euthanized because it was suffering."

Officials at the Clearwater Audubon Society and the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary are trying to get the message out to local park rangers, marina managers and waterfront residents: Birds and metal spikes don't mix.

The metal spikes are usually used to deter birds from roosting on top of poles and pilings, building nests, squawking in the middle of the night and splattering droppings all over the surface below. But the steel spikes that jut out 3 to 10 inches can be harmful to birds, marine bird activists say.

"We really don't want to have these birds unnecessarily hurt when it's something we could easily prevent," said Barb Walker, conservation advocacy chair at the Clearwater Audubon Society.

People don't have to resign themselves to signs and decks covered in feces, Walker said.

There are several less hazardous and environmentally friendly alternatives, including black plastic cones that prevent the birds from roosting but are not sharp enough to put them at risk. There are also bird "spiders" with thin, stainless-steel wire arms that are too light for birds to stand on. And, of course, there are always visual deterrents such as scarecrows or plastic birds of prey... (Continued)

[Jill W]

This is just an appalling situation!  I hope Ms. Walker can get something done to get those awful spikes removed.  I had a hard time looking at some of those photos.

We don't have anything like that here in Broward, Miami Dade, or Palm Beach counties, do we?

Jill

[NewMexiKen]

Jill, as Barb pointed out, they are probably lightning rods, not spikes to deter birds. I think I have seen them on the top of some poles in ball fields locally, but will be on the lookout to be sure. They are not sharpened at the points as are bird spikes, but still hazardous and did cause impalement of the Osprey and possibly injury to other birds, especially those with long wings. Barb is seeing if there is a way to modify them to reduce the hazard to birds.