The Mattituck Parks District will host its annual Return of the Osprey on Sunday, March 16, at noon at Breakwater Beach in Mattituck. The event will feature an osprey platform installation, marine debris clean up and scavenger hunt. Fencing will also be set up to protect piping plover nesting sites. Those interested in volunteering should dress in layers and can bring their own gloves if desired. No rain date is planned.
“Typically, [the males] arrive around St. Patrick’s Day, and the females will return anywhere from seven to 10 days after that, so the window is usually from St. Patrick’s Day to the first day of spring when they arrive,” said Jennifer Murray of the Turtleback Environmental Education Center and one of the event organizers. “The males will arrive early to stake territory, and start either repairing nests or selecting a nest site to build on. And then usually the females follow.”
Beyond the raptors’ seasonal return, the event marks the overall success of the local osprey following the horrific effects of pollution on their population. “It’s not just [to celebrate] their journey back north from their long migration. It’s also to celebrate their success story in conservation and recovery of their population from their severe decline, mostly due to DDT,” said Ms. Murray.
Volunteers will erect a new platform for an osprey couple to use to construct a nest. Platforms keep ospreys from building nests on power poles and other structures that are dangerous. The participants will also remove debris from the beach, as ospreys will often use garbage such as rope, fishing line, and balloons in their nests. They can then become entangled in this material, said Ms. Murray.
The return of the ospreys can be considered the opening of spring birding. “This has become an annual event that people look forward to, and we celebrate this conservation champion.”
A number of beach clean-ups and other conservation events are scheduled for March as the weather warms and birds return. For more information, email [email protected].