Ospreys on the Comeback Trail in Ohio
Once-Endangered Birds Returning To Nest in Jefferson County
Christopher Dacanay Trending
Alicia Basil finds that visiting the fishermen's access area along River Road in Yorkville is a sublime way to entertain her lifelong love of nature.
A Martins Ferry resident, Basil has been visiting the tranquil spot, just downriver from the Pike Locks and Dam spillway, on and off for 30 years or "as long as I can remember."
Depending on the time and season, Basil noted, one can see a wide array of animals -- eagles, turkey vultures, ducks, geese, swans, snapping turtles, fish, bobcats, beaver, deer, coyotes, rabbits, squirrels, brown bats and gray tree frogs.
The nearby residents Basil has been most excited about recently are a pair of ospreys nesting just up River Road from the access area. Currently nesting atop an old utility pole, the pair has been returning for the last three years. During that time, Basil has come to expect the osprey's return during winter as a sign of spring approaching.
Basil has witnessed chicks poking their heads out from the nest after hatching. She's also observed a curious habit of ospreys and others while hunting.
"When they catch a fish, they automatically turn it face forward when they fly so it's more aerodynamic."
Ospreys and eagles have become a more familiar sight within the last 10 years, Basil said.
However, Basil said, River Road and its surroundings have been targets for human development. She's concerned about animal populations becoming displaced by possible habitat destruction and subsequent buildout along the Ohio River.
Ospreys are known to nest anywhere safe -- normally open and high platforms -- near shallow water with an abundant fish population. Mated ospreys will return to the same nest each year, producing three or four eggs each time.
Known also as fish eagles or fish hawks, ospreys were once common in Ohio but began a population decline in the late 1800s and early 1900s, according to ODNR's Division of Wildlife. State officials on a reintroduction effort in 1996.
Since the program's start, 302 young ospreys were placed in six Ohio locations: Deer Creek Wildlife Area, Lake La Su An Wildlife Area, Portage Lakes, Salt Fork Wildlife Area, Spring Valley Wildlife Area and the Wilds. Between 4 and 6 weeks old, the osprey were donated from established populations in other states.
As of Friday, Basil said the behavior of the birds suggests their eggs have hatched and they've begun feeding the chicks. She hopes developers along River Road don't decide to destroy pole on which the birds are nesting. If they do, she said, hopefully they can provide a replacement platform like other manmade ones that can be seen along the Ohio River,
Basil said her hope is that people will slow down when traveling along River Road and "realize what's around them" -- an alive and diverse area that, to her, is "amazing and a blessing."