The
Taylors Island Facebook post mentioned, “A bad-ass lady from
Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research got into the bucket and was raised
up to the platform several times!” I need to explain.
Last
Friday, Carl Dunnock, a Wildlife Specialist with the USDA, traveled
from Taylors Island, a beautiful, scenic area just west of Cambridge,
Maryland, to Georgetown, Delaware, and handed me two four-week-old
Ospreys for transport to Tri-State. He explained that they had to be
removed from their nest atop the Taylors Island Volunteer Fire
Company’s emergency siren, which had broken a few weeks prior
and needed repair. The siren was essential for alerting volunteer
firemen but was also used as a warning system for the nearby Calvert
Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant. JB Tieder, the fire chief, made all the
calls necessary to legally remove the chicks.
I
sent photos of the two chicks to our Tri-State southern region
volunteer transporter, Jodi McLaughlin, an Osprey guru. She
determined that they were about four weeks old. She quickly “flew”
into action. She called Andrea Howey-Newcomb, Tri-State Bird Rescue
Clinic Director, who gave her Trevor Michaels' USDA phone number.
Jodi called Trevor. They discussed installing a new platform at the
county-owned marina next door to the fire station. Jodi let him know
she was heading over to check the location, assuming permitting might
be difficult for placing the proposed new platform on the fire
company property. Jodi pulled into the marina parking lot at 3 PM,
surveyed the area, and approached Brittney Dickerson, an employee of
the on-site Boats & Hose Restaurant.
Jodi
asked Brittney if she knew about the Ospreys. She said she witnessed
their removal. She gave Jodi the names of people who might want to
help, including Bennie Horseman, who owned a bucket truck. Bennie was
ready to donate a pole and put it up, but wasn’t sure if the
land belonged to the fire chief. Bennie called JB, but he said, “Not
without a permit.”
Trevor
suggested that Jodi call the county. They said that they could not
help with a platform. Jodi called Delmarva Power and spoke to
Cristina Frank, who helped her identify a pole number at the rear of
the fire department, where Jodi saw an adult female feeding, in hopes
that Choptank Electric Cooperative might allow a platform on that guy
pole near the original nest site. Cristina also tried to contact
Choptank, but since it was late on Friday, there was no answer. Jodi
left a message with Brian Hall, who oversees Choptank’s
environmental issues, and then headed back home.
Meanwhile,
the healthy baby Ospreys settled in at Tri-State Bird Rescue and were
self-feeding – prepared trout was on the menu. One of the two
was a bully and wouldn’t let the other eat until it was
satiated. Andrea made sure that both ate their fill.
When
Jodi got home Friday night, she began sending emails to get help with
a platform permit or foster nest. She also searched for a tax
map to prove who owned the property at the site. On Saturday, she
worked the phones and confirmed that the wetland area behind the
siren tower required a permit. She found the property owner, Tom
Neild, a very nice volunteer with the fire department, and he said he
would ask the fire chief about a platform.
On
Monday, Brittney posted on Facebook about the removal of the baby
Ospreys. Shortly after that, Jodi received a conference call from JB,
his wife, Patti, who is the fire department president, and his son,
Josh. Patti asked Jodi what could be done to resolve this issue and
prevent negative PR. Jodi said she needed a platform. The chief
immediately called Choptank, who had already heard from Brian Hall
due to the Friday message. Jodi listened as they discussed a pole and
platform on fire department land next to the siren. Jodi told them
that it must be in the next two days. The call ended.
A
few minutes later, Jodi got a call from Choptank’s Brian Hall.
He asked what he could do to help. Almost immediately after she hung
up the phone, the fire chief called to let Jodi know that Choptank
would provide the pole and platform and that they would be installed
the following morning by 8:00 AM. Jodi called Andrea to let her know
and began planning the nest design. Meanwhile, JC Collins, owner of
Collins Wood Products, called to offer his lumber. Jodi provided
instructions on how to enhance the platform. By 10:00 PM, everything
was planned for Tuesday.
Tuesday
morning, I met the Tri-State van in Milford and retrieved the two
Osprey. They were housed in one long tote. I left for Taylors Island
and arrived a few minutes after Jodi. She was already decked out in a
harness and had her hard hat nearby. The plan was for me to keep the
birds in my truck with the AC going and then transfer them into a
smaller tote when it was time to put them on the nest that Jodi was
getting ready to create. While I watched Jodi set out the three
containers of nest material that she collected, I met and chatted
with Brittney. The fire chief positioned his bucket lift. Apparently,
JB also owned Tieder Electric. Other locals showed up to help.
Jodi
climbed into the bucket, was hooked up, and then got her first load
of nest material: a tote full of dried grass. It took a few minutes
for JB to twist, turn, and pivot her into position, but when the
bucket was at the top of the standard-sized telephone pole, Jodi
emptied the contents, tossed the tote over, and then spread out the
grasses. Mike Faulkner, a technician at Collins Wood Products, who
tailored the platform to Jodi’s specifications, was there to
retrieve the tote from the brush where it landed. His boss, JC
Collins - another fire department volunteer, was also there lending a
hand.
The
bucket returned to the ground, and JC handed her the second tote with
various sizes of grass, sticks, branches, leaves, and pinecones. It
made me dizzy to watch her go so high. When she came back down, the
third load contained some grass, but mostly it consisted of small
branches, sticks, and twigs, plus dried nest bowl and dirt materials.
It took a little longer for Jodi to lean over and arrange these into
a nest. She dampened the newly created nest bowl in final preparation
for the chicks. While she was doing this, it was my cue to get the
chicks ready for transfer.
Mike
Gelletta, a fireman, and his wife helped me get the large tote out of
my truck and onto the ground in a shady area. They suspended a sheet
over a smaller tote. I placed the bags of fish under that sheet,
then, one at a time, loosely surrounded each chick with a closed
pillowcase and placed them into the tote. The ends of the bottom
sheet were carefully folded over the birds so that nothing would
snag.
Jodi
was back down, and the final phase began. We were all captivated as
she rose once again to the platform and reached over and gently
placed each osprey into their new home. She opened the bag of fish,
broke them apart, and watched as they tried to eat. Meanwhile, the
parents had been seen off and on, circling high overhead. Perhaps
they knew.
Jodi
met with a well-deserved round of applause as she descended to the
ground one final time. Less than an hour later, Mama Osprey showed up
and fed her eager chicks. Papa showed up a short while later with a
whole fish!
Quote
from the Taylors Island Facebook page, “Reunited and it feels
so good!”
*****
Janet,
an avid birdwatcher, and her husband, Jon, who worked for the State
Department, spent almost twenty years overseas, working and living in
developing countries such as Cameroon and in culturally and
economically stable countries such as Norway. She witnessed and
experienced situations that the average American couldn’t
fathom. She self-published and printed 200 copies of From the
Arctic Circle to Zambia and Exotic Places In-between. More than
half were given to family, friends, people mentioned in the book, and
to the libraries of the embassies in Cameroon, Switzerland, Costa
Rica, Zambia, and Norway.
Retired
now, she spends her time restoring an old Victorian house they found
in Georgetown, Delaware. She volunteers with TriState Bird Rescue and
Research, which means she sometimes captures Bald Eagles or feeds
tiny baby birds. She also enjoys monthly meetings with friends
at The
First Saturday Writers Group.
