Up close with ospreys

Lovers of migratory birds join naturalist on banding trip

By PAMELA WOOD, Staff Writer

Published 07/03/09

A few decades ago, there was a single osprey nest in the Jug Bay section of the Patuxent River, which snakes along Anne Arundel County's southwestern border.

Pamela Wood - The Capital Naturalist Greg Kearns gets help from volunteers in putting an identification band on a young osprey on the Patuxent River. Information from the band will be put into a database, so if the bird turns up injured or in an unusual place, researchers will know where it came from.

SLIDESHOW

Osprey banding

Volunteers, including many Annapolis Maritime Museum supporters, tagged along on a trip to band young ospreys in the Jug Bay area of the Patuxent River before they fledge (leave the nest).

Now there are more than three dozen - a few in trees, most on man-made platforms over the water and marshes.

Some osprey lovers got a chance to see many of the birds up close Wednesday as they tagged along on an expedition to put small identification bands on this year's baby ospreys, which are about to fledge from their nests.

"I've never done it before. I thought it would be an amazing thing to see and do. And it was," said Lori Jenkins, who...

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Osprey banding? Nobody told me! - 2009-07-08 13:21:04

Neat article on an apparently annual wildlife conservation activity. I wish I'd known about this, as I've been watching osprey nests in the Annapolis area for a third year now, and as an avid bird photographer (amateur), I would have loved to be a part of this. If anyone can place me in contact with Ms. Lynch, I'd be very grateful. You can view many of my osprey shots at http://www.flickr.com/photos/pauerkorde/sets/72157606096791072/ (if links are allowed).

Regards,

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P. Lackey - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Neutral