OspreyCam Goes Live

Nova Scotians are invited to view the province's official bird via a live webcam during the months of June and July.

The Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History and Nova Scotia Power Inc. are partnering for a second year to bring an up-close-and-personal view of the of an osprey family to the World Wide Web.

The webcam goes live today, June 26, at http://nature.museum.gov.ns.ca and will run until the young osprey leave the nest.

The parent birds have been fondly dubbed Ethel and Oscar Osprey. This year, Ethel has laid three eggs. It appears that the cold, wet weather during her brooding may have had an impact on hatching.

"Only one chick has hatched so far," said Bob Bancroft, a wildlife biologist partnering with Nova Scotia Power on the project. "Given this, the chick is getting lots of attention and food from its parents and is big for its age."

Nova Scotia Power has led the osprey relocation program for more than 20 years. Osprey nest on high structures near good fishing grounds. Power poles are a favourite nesting site, with about 200 osprey nests located on the company's structures.

In most cases, the nests do not interfere with the delivery of electricity and the birds are not at risk. However, in some cases, the birds are in danger of electrocution or debris from the nest can cause an outage. Nova Scotia Power and the Department of Natural Resources provide alternative nesting platforms in these situations.

"Osprey are magnificent birds. Most people only view them from a distance, so an opportunity to view their daily habits and behaviours is a remarkable opportunity for us all,"
said Janet Maltby, manager of the Museum of Natural History. "The webcam allows viewers a rare chance to observe the birds without disturbance to them."

Visitors to the Museum of Natural History this summer will also enjoy a special osprey display, including a real nest, bird study skins and some humorous materials osprey have used to line their nests.