Alameda Point Ospreys face nesting disruption
In early June a pair of returning Ospreys looked ready for the day in their newly made nest atop a parking lot light pole at Alameda Point, but they had no chicks to attend to. The pair’s first nest this season — on a nearby ship — had been removed while they were building it. Their second attempt faced interference from another Osprey. By June, hopes for fledglings this year had faded.
An ad hoc group of Osprey watchers is now hoping a dedicated Osprey platform can be erected at Alameda Point in a spot where competing interests and annoyances of daily commotion don’t intrude into the reproductive efforts of the Ospreys.
In early March, the Osprey pair began building their first nest this year where they had nested last year — on a kingpost high atop the maritime ship Admiral Callaghan. The ship’s owner, the Maritime Administration (MARAD), had removed last year’s nest. This year MARAD moved quickly to stop the nest building to avoid potential delay from relocating a nest if the ship were ordered into service.

“The Maritime Administration worked closely with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife on dismantling the nest and installing deterrence devices on March 19 prior to any eggs being laid,” said Alameda resident Harvey Wilson, who has been monitoring the Ospreys at Alameda Point.

But that removal didn’t end the Ospreys’ interest in the ship, at least not for the male Osprey. He soon started bringing sticks to a lower-level hoisting post on the ship. The female, on the other hand, took a liking to a light pole in the parking lot next to the wharf.
After weeks of back-and-forth episodes of mating and nest building at both sites, the female won, and nest building started ramping up on the light pole. At one point, it appeared that the female was hunkering down in the nest, a sign that eggs had been laid and incubation had started. But soon another female Osprey appeared, trying to lure the male from his duties and disturbing the composure of the female.
