Laserfiche WebLink
Relocating osprey (Pandion haliaetus) nests within the former Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant (TCAAP) <br />Over the past 20 years, ospreys have become a success story in Ramsey County, and the surrounding Twin <br />Cities metro area, due to an osprey reintroduction project launched by Three Rivers Park District. Prior to the <br />reintroduction project, osprey numbers within Ramsey County were non-existent due to the use of DDT, <br />habitat loss and persecution. There are now over 16 active osprey nests within Ramsey County. <br />Ospreys are raptors that are smaller than a bald eagle but <br />larger than a red-tailed hawk. An adult osprey’s plumage <br />consists of a brown back and wing, with a mostly white <br />breast and belly that can also be speckled. Ospreys nest <br />near lakes and rivers and are excellent anglers, feeding <br />primarily on fish. Osprey’s summer range consists of <br />upper North America, where they nest and breed before <br />making their migration to their winter range in South <br />America. <br /> Although ospreys are tolerable of human interactions that <br />occur below their nests, they naturally expand their range <br />in less densely populated areas. The tops of manmade <br />utility structures are particularly attractive to ospreys, <br />which has made utility poles within TCAAP an ideal nesting <br />location for local ospreys. <br />There are currently five active osprey nests within the <br />area of TCAAP slated for construction. Ramsey County Parks and Recreation, Audubon Minnesota, Xcel <br />Energy, the Minnesota Army National Guard, Three Rivers Park District and MN DNR Nongame personnel are <br />working together to discuss the removal process, as well as plans for installing new utility poles and nesting <br />box structures outside of the construction area. These agencies are working together to determine ideal <br />locations to install up to seven new nesting platforms. The platforms will be located on top of separate utility <br />poles within the overall nesting corridor, and they are meant to replace the nests being removed in the <br />redevelopment site. Efforts will be made to relocate as much nesting material as possible from the removed <br />nests to the newly erected nesting platforms. <br />The ospreys within TCAAP will continue to be monitored by numerous agencies after the relocation project. <br />Ospreys are known to return to the same area to re-nest – though not necessarily in the exact same nest – <br />which should make the relocation of the nesting platforms a success. <br /> <br />Osprey chick being banded within TCAAP, July 2013