OSPREYS OF DAVIS ISLANDS STORY + PHOTOS BY KIM FATICA
A distinctive whistling sound pierced the calm dusky evening from above the canopy of palms and oaks lining Superior Avenue. Sitting atop a barren Washingtonia palm in front of 614 Superior is an adult osprey, pecking at a fish plucked from nearby waters. Two houses over, an empty-handed osprey sits atop a wilted perch; a tree looking like it had come straight from a Dr. Seuss book. A third osprey glides by moments later with a sizeable fish in its talons. Scenes like this are becoming increasingly more common on Davis Islands. Over on Columbia, Jimmy Fuchs has been enjoying them in the mornings. “The first time I heard this unique sound– something different from the other birds around,” he said. “I was surprised when I looked up and saw this huge bird sitting up in the trees. Now I notice them all the time and it’s awesome!”
At the north end of Davis Islands, on Adalia, Pat Fosnaught spends time on a dock where she sees the bird of prey commingle with pelicans, egrets, Great Blue herons and gulls. “We see lots of ospreys,” she beamed. “They like to get on top of the very tall light fixtures along the dock, dive and catch whatever they’re looking for for lunch or dinner.” The sight of soaring ospreys on Davis Islands is no fluke. According to Nancy Murrah, a raptor expert and member of the local Audubon Society, there are about 14 known Ospreys who have claimed DI as their home. “It’s the ideal place for them,” says Murrah. “There’s water everywhere and lots of high trees for spotting fish.” While ospreys spot fish from high perches, residents continue spotting the raptors from ground level and it never gets old for them. Strolling with his dog along the 600 block of Superior Avenue, Jack Whitwam stops for a moment to watch the osprey atop the towering, slender and bald palm tree. “It’s great to see them,” he said. “A wonderful sight every time I come through.” Unfortunately for Whitwam and others on Superior, that sight might soon end. Both trees are dead and have been marked to be cut down by the city. One of those Superior Avenue trees sits on the right of way of Pam Colker’s front yard. She tacked up a sign at eye-level that reads “DO NOT CUT DOWN PALM TREE AT 614 SUPERIOR AVE. HAVE OSPREY PAIR LIVING HERE.” Others have also expressed concern that the city shouldn’t cut the trees down, that they might be violating a statute that protects the
birds from being disturbed. That recalls a somewhat similar scenario in April of 2012 when ospreys had nested atop a crane in the Port of Tampa. That situation left Salonen Marine, the owner of the crane, in a weeklong quandary that eventually cost them more than $30,000 from non-productivity. Eventually, the nest and the eggs were removed by the contractor and taken to a sanctuary. That move cost Salonen Marine an additional $500 in fines, but it also got 12 people back to work while providing a safer haven for the osprey hatchlings. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act is what made it illegal for nest and eggs to be removed from the crane, but the scenario is slightly different for the Collinses. The ospreys are not nesting atop either palm on Superior. They are merely using them as perches to spot fish and to eat them when they catch them. Murrah says there is no endangerment to the birds for cutting down dead palm trees.
Above: Resident Pam Colker put this sign on the tree in her front yard where ospreys perch and dine on their freshly caught meals. She and husband, Wes Colker, hope the city will leave the tree alone. Photo Kim Fatica “They’re not going to nest in a palm tree,” she asserted. “The structure doesn’t allow for good anchoring.” The sheer size of an osprey nest is about five feet across–the approximate size of one of the tables out in front of Farrell’s on the Island. Ospreys like a nice flat surface and palms typically aren’t strong enough or flat enough for that to work. Still, there has been vocal concern among residents like Collins who feel that a government agency should step in to protect the birds. Murrah deals directly with the city in many of these similar instances. She says there are two specific city employees who 3
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