The Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) has developed an intervention policy for the Belwood osprey chicks after a recent incident led them to remove a bird from its nest.
The youngest chick, Welley, was observed on the nest webcam with its foot stuck in the nest on July 6.
“It appeared that one of the young bird’s … band was stuck within the nest material and the bird was sort of fighting it. This was going on for quite a long time overnight and by the morning the bird was exhausted,” said GRCA spokesperson Dave Schultz.
He explained that on the morning of July 7, bird bander Dave Lamble physically assessed the bird and deemed it exhausted but otherwise unharmed.
However, the GRCA received many calls from concerned observers that the bird was not doing well.
“Through the morning, people are watching it, and it’s not looking very good. It’s kind of just lying there and not moving around, the other bird is feeding and it’s not, and so people were getting quite concerned about it,” said Schultz.
The GRCA decided to take the osprey chick to the Ontario Veterinary College in Guelph, where it received a penicillin shot and an intravenous feed. It was placed back in the nest by 4pm the same day and it has been doing well ever since.
The ordeal led to the development of an intervention policy, which explains GRCA officials will not intervene in the nest.
“In this particular case, because there was that connection to the bird banding we found it appropriate to take action, but there may be things that happen down the road where you just have to let nature take its course,” said Schultz.
He said the GRCA wanted to remind people that nature is not easy and that it is estimated that about 50 to 60 per cent of all osprey chicks do not survive their first year of life.
“We wanted to explain to people that what we are providing with this camera is a window into nature, so what you’re seeing here is natural events – sometimes they’re not always pretty,” said Schultz.
This is the first year for the live stream camera, and he said GRCA officials are learning about the process as they go.
The chicks are expected to start flying by the end of July, but Schultz mentioned this may not be easy to watch, because they won’t initially be very good at it and they can get hurt.
The chicks hatched in early June and were banded and named at the end of June.
