Osprey Pandion haliaetus cristatus

Osprey Pandion haliaetus cristatus

Ospreys nest mainly in trees at least 30 metres high. The loss of old trees through coastal development is the major threat to the species' survival in NSW. The birds mate for life and usually keep the same nest, adding new material each year. The nests are huge with sticks sometimes piled up to 1.5 metres thick. They can be 1.2 metres in diameter.

Older records from 1988 know of only 45-50 breeding pairs of Ospreys along the NSW coast between the Central Coast and the Queensland border. The Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife funded surveys of nest-sites as an initial step towards a recovery plan for the threatened species.

The project relies on the information from a wide range of key national and state organisations, local councils, bird watchers and interested members of the public. These groups provide information on the location of current and previously active Osprey nests.

The latest collected data shows that the number of known active Osprey nests in the state has increased to around 100 over the past 15 years.

The Ospreys’ ability to utilise telegraph posts where trees are missing helps to conquer new habitat. Thanks to the birds' presence in urban areas and awareness raising efforts by organisations such as the Foundation, people are now more aware of Ospreys; another reason why more nests were found in this survey.

This survey was repeated for the 2006 breeding season.

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