Osprey up close

COEUR d'ALENE - Now that the osprey have landed in North Idaho, let the banding of their babies begin.

A common summertime sight on area lakes and streams, roughly 200 pairs of the birds raise their young here before heading to west-central Mexico or Central America in late August and September for the winter.

The public can see osprey up close either swooping for fish dinner or tending to their babies on nest sites on Lake Coeur d'Alene on Saturday, July 12, during the Coeur d'Alene Area Chamber of Commerce's annual osprey cruise.

Phil Cooper, a wildlife conservation educator for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game in Coeur d'Alene, said he believes osprey numbers may be down slightly this year from previous years, but added that no studies are being done to prove it, due to the lack of funding.

"Osprey have high fidelity to their nest sites," Cooper said. "However, several traditional nests are not occupied this year. The reason that is cannot be known without further investigation.

"It could be that the 'missing' birds have nested elsewhere in the vicinity of their old nests or that they perished during the winter migration."

The osprey cruise will tour Cougar Bay, where Wayne Melquist, retired IDFG wildlife biologist, will be banding baby osprey from a ladder in a boat alongside the piling and nest.

Melquist, who bands the birds to study migration patterns, will speak afterward and answer questions from cruise attendees.

Sandy Emerson, an organizer of the cruise, called it a "one-of-a-kind" event sponsored by the chamber of commerce's Natural Resource Committee.

"It has been said that this is the only place in the world where a wildlife cruise of this type with sighting of osprey in their habitat and banding of fledgling chicks can be observed," Emerson wrote in a press release. "It is always a treat and often other birds are seen as well."

Participating agencies include IDFG, U.S. Bureau of Land Mangement, Coeur d'Alene Audubon Society, Coeur d'Alene Tribe, Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) with support from Lake Coeur d'Alene Cruises.

Wildlife experts will provide information and answer questions. They will have mounted bird displays and other exhibits. If conditions allow, live birds may be presented by Beth Paragamian, an IDFG bird specialist. Cruise participants will also have a chance to learn about other environmental topics related to the lake and its surroundings.

Forty-four new pilings for osprey were installed in Cougar Bay last summer thanks to collaboration between the Cougar Bay Osprey Protective Association, Kootenai Environmental Alliance, IDFG, Ed Haglund of Lake City Marine and John Condon of North Idaho Maritime.

The cruise costs $15 per adult, and children 12 and younger are free when accompanied by a paying adult. Family rates are $35 for two adults and children as old as 18. Seniors and students 13 and older are $10. Attendees are encouraged to bring a camera, sunscreen, binoculars, sunglasses and a hat.

Boarding of the cruise boat begins at 8:30 a.m. at the east side of the Boardwalk Marina. The cruise will depart at 9 a.m. and return at 11 a.m. Parking is available at the new McEuen Park parking lot.

For more information or to make reservations, stop by the chamber of commerce or call 664-3194. The cruise is limited to the first 150 passengers so reservations are recommended.

Coeur d'Alene's annual Parks Day celebration will be all day at McEuen Park on July 12 with music, free food, activities and exhibits, so attendees may wish to attend that event afterward.