Blog 294: Spring, Welcome Ospreys!


Cayuga Lake off Myers Park looking toward Ithaca, courtesy of William Warmus 

Looking up and down Cayuga’s shoreline daily, I scan for signs of spring and the return  of Cayuga Lake’s Ospreys. The arrival of Salt Point’s breeding pair Orpheus and  Ophelia could be any day. Usually the male arrives at their nest before the female, but  each Osprey plays by its own rules. From 2013–2015, the pair arrived at the nest on  April 5 of every year. In 2016, however, Orpheus and Ophelia both arrived on April 1,  and the pair’s arrival has been getting earlier ever since. In 2018, Orpheus arrived in the  morning and Ophelia in the evening of March 15, and, in 2019, they arrived on March  16. However, the pattern reverted in 2020, with their arrival on April 2. Osprey sightings  at the Montezuma Wildlife Refuge and Cass Park earlier this month indicate the 2021  Spring migration is well on its way, and our residents Ospreys should arrive soon—but  when?

Male and female meeting at nest, courtesy of Tom Middleton. 

I find the progressively earlier arrival dates of the Osprey over the last 6 years troubling,  especially in light of the many other sped-up phenological cycles across the natural  world. Phenology, or the timing of the annual cycles of plants and animals, is precisely  timed to the climate and vulnerable to sudden changes.  

We also know that plants and animals adjust the timing of certain phenological events,  such as tree budding, flowering, or bird and mammal migrating, according to changes in  the weather. While many plant and animal species seem to be adjusting to the increase  in unseasonal temperatures, drought, and extreme storms that are associated with  climate change, not all species are responding at the same speed or in the same ways.  This interrupts the normal interspecies interactions and the overall functioning of  ecosystems. 

Osprey male delivery a fish remnant to young, courtesy of Cindy and Karel Sedlacek. 

For example, plants may bloom before butterflies emerge to pollinate them, or  caterpillars may emerge before migratory birds arrive to feed them to their young. According to the United States Geological Survey, phenological events such as bud  burst, migrations, and senescence at temperate latitudes have advanced by 2.5 days  per decade since 1971. What is unsure is how these phenological events will change  over longer time frames. 

Synchrony of these cycles is imperative for the world’s ecological systems to function.  Whatever the cause, be it climate change or the solar Maunder Minimum, we all need to  pay attention and act accordingly. Because of their long breeding cycle, Osprey are one  of the first migrating birds to return to the northeast. As with the Ospreys warning us of  the DDT crisis, are Ospreys trying to warn us that something is wrong with the  environmental clock?

Osprey diving for fish in inlet, courtesy of Cindy and Karel Sedlacek. 

Time to get your binoculars out and start scanning the skies for the aerial acrobatics of  the Ospreys. Watch them hover with crooked wings, suddenly plunge 100 feet at 40  mph into the water, and rise clutching a writhing fish—magnificent sight seen through  the age and one to be preserved for the future. 

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! 

Eyes to the sky!  

Candace  

Candace E. Cornell  

Friends of Salt Point  

Lansing, NY 

cec222@gmail.com 

EYES ON OSPREYS

WATCH! 

Coming Soon! Salt Point Osprey Nest Cam 2021 

READ! 

On Osprey Time Ospreys of Salt Point 

VISIT! 

Cayuga Lake Osprey Trail

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