Kids create osprey nests
Students at Central Yorke School's Point Pearce Campus created nests in April as part of a community-led mission to increase eastern osprey numbers on Yorke Peninsula.
The students, together with IPA rangers and staff, helped to create the new homes, which will be lowered onto artificial platforms by helicopter, with one set for a platform that will be installed near Point Pearce in May.
It’s all part of the Eastern Osprey Recovery program, an amazing community project spearheaded by Southern Yorke Peninsula Landcare Group and Friends of Osprey, with funding support from the Northern and Yorke Landscape Board through its Djulda-wawa Badja project. Six platforms have been installed on Yorke Peninsula since 2021.
Raptor expert Ian Falkenberg said that 10 juvenile osprey were produced on Yorke Peninsula during the 2024 breeding season, with 4 of those raised on artificial platforms. Plus, another osprey pair has taken up residence on a fifth platform.
“That’s an absolutely outstanding result considering ten years ago there was only one active osprey breeding site on Yorke Peninsula,” he said.
The Northern and Yorke Landscape Board team organised Point Pearce Campus’ involvement, with Janet Moore coordinating the activity and Farrin Miller collecting all the sticks, seaweed and mesh frames needed to build the nests.
The Learning on Nharangga Country students learnt how to form the circular starter nests, weaving the sticks in place. The nests are essential to enticing the species to ‘move in’ and if this happens, the pair will continue adding to the nest in preparation for breeding.
Before starting the activity, the students learnt the important role that eastern osprey play in the coastal ecosystem, as well as the community-driven recovery program that is bringing the raptors back to mainland Yorke Peninsula. Raptor expert and Friends of Osprey member Ian Falkenberg shared his knowledge about the birds, while Rick Hawthorne, president of SYP Landcare Group shared the story of how the eastern osprey recovery program was sparked by Yorke Peninsula community and environmental champion, the late Kent Treloar.
