A Christmas Eve 2014 windstorm destroyed an established osprey nest at Crane Point. The displaced birds worked on a replacement only to have it blown away once again. Undaunted, the ospreys have built on a different platform located nearby.
“In the 20 years I have been on Crane Point property, I have never seen any osprey actually nest on this particular platform,” said Kelly Grinter, director of The Marathon Wild Bird Center located on Crane Point property. “In the past, the male has used it as a ‘man cave’ when the babies in the original nesting location got so large that the nest became crowded, and it was used as a learning platform when the parents were teaching their offspring how to fly and fish. However, it has not been used as a successful nesting spot.”
The surprising and exciting news is that there are triplets in the nest, a rare event. Ospreys are usually about seven weeks old when they become as large as their parents, and learn to fly when they are seven to nine weeks old.
The osprey nest is very visible to visitors at Crane Point.
Crane Point Museum & Nature Trails is a 63-acre hardwood hammock that is home to hundreds of native trees and plants, wildlife, the oldest house in Monroe County outside Key West, the Adderley House, a museum of natural history as well as The Marathon Wild Bird Center. It is located on the gulfside of the intersection of U.S.1 and Sombrero Beach Road. Crane Point offers daily guided trolley tours included in the price of admission.
BARB JENSEN/Contributed
Barb Jensen of Michigan, The newly inhabited nest has three babies.
