Witness osprey banding during July 7 cruise
An osprey lands back at its nest on a wooden post in Cougar Bay during an Osprey Cruise in 2016. (LOREN BENOIT/Press File)
LOREN BENOIT/Press File Nancy Platt, of Coeur d’Alene, looks through her binoculars during an Osprey Cruise in 2016.
Guests look for osprey during an Osprey Cruise on Lake Coeur d'Alene in 2016. (LOREN BENOIT/Press File)
Kris Buchler, with Coeur d'Alene Audubon, hold up "Jack," a great-horned owl during an Osprey Cruise in 2016. (LOREN BENOIT/Press File)
LOREN BENOIT/Press File An osprey soars over Lake Coeur d’Alene in 2016.
An osprey lands back at its nest on a wooden post in Cougar Bay during a Osprey Cruise in 2016. (LOREN BENOIT/Press File)
The osprey is a fish-eating hawk commonly seen in North Idaho.
At least 100 pairs annually nest in the Coeur d’Alene Lake region, including the lower reaches of the St. Joe and Coeur d’Alene rivers.
Adult osprey, along with the young of the year birds, begin their annual migration in mid-September, traveling to Baja California, Central America and many all the way to South America. The adults return in late winter/early spring to the area where they originally hatched.
The University of Idaho and the Idaho Fish and Game Department have been studying and banding ospreys at Lake Coeur d’Alene for more than 30 years. The work is done to determine survival and mortality rates and to further define the migration patterns and wintering areas of the population.
To conduct this research, young of the year pre-flight osprey are briefly taken from nests just before fledging. A band with a unique number is gently applied to one leg, and the 6-7 week old birds are safely placed back in the nests.
People might wonder what the adult osprey think of the process. The adults take flight when the research boat approaches. They make their displeasure known with loud, screeching calls intended to scare away the biologists and to tell the young osprey to lie down in an effort to hide.
These brave biologists have more than 30 years of experience banding osprey and they can understand "osprey language." Knowing the osprey are only using scare tactics, they go about their work and get away from the nest in no time flat.
The banding process goes very quickly. After the leg bands are applied and the biologists move away, the adults immediately return to the nests to find their young safe and secure … but sporting new leg bands.
None of us know if having a leg band is a status symbol or an embarrassment in the osprey world, but the bands allow for the gathering of some remarkable information to help biologists learn about the species and to protect osprey populations.
Would you like to learn more about this bird that is common to our area in the summer? Consider watching osprey research work first hand.
An osprey boat cruise piloted by Captain Carl Fus of Coeur d’Alene Lake Cruises is scheduled for July 7. The trip will run from 9 to 11 a.m. Boarding begins at 8:30 a.m. The boat will leave promptly at 9 a.m.
The cruise will depart from the east side of The Coeur d'Alene Resort Boardwalk by Tubbs Hill and McEuen Park. Parking is available in the parking lot and on nearby streets.
The trip is $20 for adults and free for children 12 and younger when with a paying adult. A family rate of $45 covers two adults and three children up to age 18. Seniors and students are $15.
Space is limited, so reservations are required. Reservations can be made by calling the Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce at 208-664-3194.
Wildlife biologists will be in a small boat that will travel alongside the cruise boat. Wildlife biologist and renowned osprey researcher Dr. Wayne Melquist will take young of the year birds from osprey nests and band them while the passengers on the cruise boat watch and take photos.
Speakers on the cruise boat will include wildlife biologists and bird experts. They'll provide fascinating information on ospreys and other wildlife species. Sandy Emerson, representing the Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce Natural Resources Committee and the Idaho Fish and Wildlife Foundation, will serve as the emcee.
Bring binoculars and cameras. A sun hat and sun screen are advised.
Guest speakers also include the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality’s Coeur d'Alene Lake Management Team, the BLM, the Inland Northwest Land Conservancy and the Cougar Bay Osprey Preservation Association.
The annual osprey cruise is sponsored by the Natural Resources Committee of the Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce. Cooperators include the Nature Conservancy, Idaho Fish and Game, the Idaho Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the University of Idaho, the Audubon Society and The Coeur d’Alene Resort.
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This content was submitted by Phil Cooper, Panhandle Region Conservation Educator for Idaho Fish and Game.