LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Osprey nesting platforms are common in Lake County, but a new, recently installed platform is unique.
It is located near a hill on the Rodman Preserve where visitors can look down into the nest to watch young osprey chicks being fed and cared for by their parents during the spring nesting season.
The platform was constructed by Redbud Audubon volunteers and erected by Audubon and Lake County Land Trust volunteers on the Land Trust’s Rodman Preserve near the Lucerne Cutoff exit from Highway 29.
The new platform will hopefully attract a pair of osprey next spring to build a nest on it and raise a brood of young birds.
When completed, osprey nests can measure two yards in diameter and weigh 300 pounds. The pair usually return to the same nest year after year.
Osprey are large predatory birds whose diet consists mainly of fish, explaining their common presence around Clear Lake.
Adults are about 26 inches in length with a wingspan of 60 to 70 inches. They have a white head with a dark mask across the eyes. The upper part of their body is glossy brown, with a white breast. Their call is a series of sharp, annoyed whistles.
Guided hikes at Rodman Preserve are once again being offered on the first Saturday of the month through the summer, starting at 8 a.m.
Meet at the Rodman Preserve nature center at the corner of Westlake Road and The Nice-Lucerne Cut-off. The preserve entry is to the immediate right after you turn left on Westlake.
For more information about the Lake County Land Trust, go to www.lakecountylandtrust.org and for Redbud Audubon www.redbudaudubon.org.
New osprey pole erected at Land Trust’s Rodman Preserve
- Lake County News reports
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