Audubon Society calls for volunteer osprey nest monitors
SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Audubon Society of Rhode Island is looking for volunteer osprey nest monitors in Westerly and other southern Rhode Island communities.
The Westerly Sun reports (http://bit.ly/29LviEl) there are approximately 12 nests in Westerly and only a handful of monitors.
This summer, a total of 100 volunteers are watching 246 nests. That’s 25 more nests than in 2015.
Officials say monitoring the nests provides valuable information on population trends and also on the population health of fish and conditions of local waters.
The osprey population has rebounded since DDT, an insecticide that weakened the shells of their eggs, was banned in 1972. The large fish-eating raptors are now common summer residents of Rhode Island and Connecticut. They typically migrate to South America in the winter.
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