Kids & Family

Prepping For The Arrival Of Some Very Important Visitors

Osprey returning to Island Beach later this month

by Patricia A. Miller

Chances are, the osprey who camped out perched on nests high atop poles in Island Beach State Park last year are on their way back from South America.

And the New Jersey Osprey Project and the Friends of Island Beach wants to make sure they come home to clean nests.

So this morning members of the Bayville Fire Department hoisted Ben Wurst high in the sky near the park's Interpretive Center to check out the birds' digs and inspect the popular "Osprey Cam."

"Feel like I just chopped down a tree with all that ice/dirt that I removed from the IBSP nest!!," Wurst wrote on the NJ Osprey Project's Facebook page. Thanks to Station 17 for the lift! Hopefully the picture looks better. I wiped the camera lens off."

Last year was a good year for the osprey parents who made their home on the nest next to the center. Four fledglings emerged from the eggs and all four survived.

The birds have typically returned to Island Beach in late March. We'll keep you posted and put up a link to the Osprey Cam once it's running again.


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