Nesting Diaries
Found 2 adult and 2 chicks on the nest.
No ospreys observed on nest or in vicinity.
Found one adult osprey on the nest with one chick.
I went in search of this nest this afternoon. A seagull was perched atop the Old Bridge channel marker. No nesting materials were spotted on either of this or the Sayreville marker. The spot was amazingly noisy, with an active draw bridge with alarm, motorboats and skidoos zipping around, ice cream vending trucks playing loud music, and hundreds of beachgoers laying out or playing in the water. The channel itself is busy with boat traffic when the bridge is up. Horns and bells signal the draw up and down. With the relative sanctuary of the state park on the other side of the highway, this doesn't seem an ideal spot for a nest. But stranger things have happened, I'm sure.
Until Hurricane Sandy took my boat for her prize in 2012, I used to pass this tower/nest weekly. From 2002 thought 2010, this was an active nest, raising new chicks every single year!