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Sanibel Island, Florida • www.ospreys.com March 2010

Marti Daltry of The Sierra Club Is Keynote Speaker For Annual Meeting

Marti Daltry will be the keynote speaker at the annual meeting of The International Osprey Foundation on Sunday, March 28. She will discuss red tide, red drift algae and other harmful algal blooms, their impact on our health, economy and environment and how we can be part of the solution to this problem, which is

caused by excessive nutrient runoff into our waters.Daltry, a Pennsylvania native, became a Lee County resident in 1976. In 2004 she enrolled at Florida Gulf Coast University and as part of the graduation requirements completed community service hours with the river advocacy group, the Caloosahatchee River Citizens Association aka Riverwatch. She graduated in December 2006 with a BA in communications. Her work with Riverwatch as public relations contact, board member and eventually president, provided the experience needed to for her to become an organizer for the Fort Myers office of The Sierra Club.

As organizer for the Red Tide Campaign, one of her goals is to form coalitions made up of residents, organizations, businesses, civic clubs, etc. with the mission of implementing policies to reduce red tide, which affects marine life as well as the creatures that feed on it, including ospreys.

Daltry has worked building a coalition that was instrumental in getting the Lee County Commission to adopt a fertilizer ordinance that pertains to homeowners as well as professional landscapers. She has been successful in getting similar ordinances passed in Bonita Springs, Fort Myers Beach and Fort Myers and is working on getting a fertilizer ordinance passed in Cape Coral.

She resides in North Fort Myers with husband Wayne Daltry, former Smart Growth Director for Lee County.

The meeting will take place at The Community House, Periwinkle Way, starting at 7 p.m. with a short business meeting. There will be a nesting season update, followed by the speaker. Admission is free to members; a $3 donation is requested of non-members.

Sanibel Ospreys Produced 104 Chicks In 2009

Rebounding to earlier levels, Sanibel’s osprey population increased by 104 last year with the survival of 104 chicks. Not since 2003 has the total of chicks fledged topped 100.

In addition to the ospreys, TIOF Nestwatch volunteers noted that three bald eagle chicks fledged.

This nest on Pine Tree Lane, Sanibel, had three chicks last winter. Photo by Larry Schopp.

Marti Daltry

140

120

100

80

60

40

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Chicks Fledged

Photo by Jason Cheever

*Total 104 fledged chicks, 3 eaglets 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009*

TIOF 2009 GrantsThe International Osprey Foundation in 2009 awarded five grants each of $1,000. The recipients are:

Paul Spitzer, Trappe, MD, to continue his project, “Study and conservation of Ridgway’s Osprey, the distinctive white-headed Caribbean subspecies P.h. ridgwayi, in Belize.” Attila D. Sandor, Sovato, Romania, for his project, “Sooty Falcon (Falco concolor) breeding in Southern Red Sea area of Egypt.” Terry Dennis (a second grant) this one for a population re-assessment of the Eastern osprey Pandion cristatus in Australia. Sharon Matola, Belize City, Belize for her project, “Belize Harpy Eagle Restoration Program.” Rob Bierregaard, Biology Department, UNC-Charlotte, NC, to pursue a project with the Hispaniola Ornithological Society to develop and implement an educational program to try to reduce the shooting of ospreys in the Dominican Republic.

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Dear TIOF,My name is Janie Suss. I am writing to you today to introduce myself and my children’s book, Oscar and Olive Osprey: A Family Takes Flight. It is a heartwarming family story of two ospreys that have come to live at the end of my pier on a platform I built just for them. They raise three babies who must learn to fly and fish, and their endeavors illustrate to children the challenges of growing up and the responsibilities of both parents and children. It also explores the habitats, growth, migration patterns and other fun and interesting facts about ospreys.I have lived on the Chesapeake Bay and been fascinated by these birds all my life. I also am

#6 in a family of 11 siblings. I have installed a platform at the end of my pier and the ospreys have nested and made it their home for the past 4 years. Observing them first hand and

researching them has become a passion. I truly believe I have a book that will not only encourage others to seek out nature themselves, but will also educate and entertain children and parents alike. I would appreciate any input you might offer such as comments, a book review or an endorsement. I am open to any suggestions you might have to help get Oscar and Olive Osprey: A Family Takes Flight into the hands of others that have a love of nature and family.

Janie Suss, Author EDITOR’S NOTE: To learn more or to order the book ($15), log onto www.oscarandolive.com

To apply for a TIOF grant

Please, write a letter explaining in detail what you plan to do, where it will be done, who will be involved and when you plan to do the education campaign. We are always interested in knowing the estimated cost of the project and whether it is a one-year or multi-year project and what the other funding sources might be. The more you tell us about your project and your advisors, the higher the probability of receiving the grant. Mail applications to: The International Osprey Foundation ATTN: Endowment Fund PO Box 250 Sanibel, FL 33957-0250 Applications must be submitted by January 31, 2011.

Life membersMr. and Mrs. Porter GossDr. Eugene MajerowiczHarvey RothsteinCharles RubrightJim Fowler, San-Cap Nature CalendarMs. Margaret SmithMrs. Carmen SanchezMr. and Mrs. William AlquistDwight AndersonMr. and Mrs. David LaddJames and Martha KannryRobert and Rita SouthernRJW FoundationBrenda and Sam TischlerDon ScottTim and Carol GardnerDavid Loveland

TIOF BoardTim Gardner, PresidentAnne Mitchell, Vice President and Newsletter EditorInge Glissman, Treasurer/SecretaryMark “Bird” Westall, Project DirectorJerry Nickerson, WebmasterDebbie Friedlund, Volunteer CoordinatorHartley Kleinberg

(Courtesy Citizens United)

Dear TIOF, I would like to invite you to peruse one of our new website offerings: Osprey Nest Anecdotes.

This is a series of stories associated with the osprey nesting structures that our 150+ volunteers have erected along the Maurice River and its tributaries in southern New Jersey. The accounts include natural history facts and some rather whimsical chronicles. It is part of our larger River Recollections project. The project includes live campfire recollection events, documentaries, presentations, an online interactive map and archives held by the organization. I believe the greatest connection that people have to a river is the sharing of their bond to it through the telling of stories. The osprey stories are accurate accounts from my perspective- the truth, as I know it. The stories are designed to give you insight into some life history of the osprey, but are primarily designed to give you a flavor for being an osprey volunteer. Presently the stories are accessible two ways. The most straightforward is a pdf which you can download to read all the stories. Secondly, each story is available by individual nesting platform. You can access on this page of our website, http://www.cumauriceriver.org, Nothing would make me happier than to receive your feedback on the Osprey Nest Anecdotes. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them for you. Sincerely, Jane Morton Galetto President, Citizens United EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a wonderful Web site with excellent photographs - please check it out.

Yep, Looks Like One of MinePhotograph courtesy of the South Florida Water Management District.

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Don’t Shoot Ospreys TV CampaignThe first of several videos produced in the Dominican Republic (with partial funding from TIOF) is to educate the Dominican people to not shoot ospreys.Many Ospreys are shot in the DR because the people think they eat their chickens. Rob Bierregaard, Biology Department, UNC-Charlotte, NC, who spoke at TIOF’s annual meeting last year, said, “We have lost all four young ospreys that tried to overwinter in the Dominican Republic to gunshots. That’s a pretty scary statistic, given the number of ospreys that pass through or winter there. Working with the Hispaniola Ornithological Society, with help from a start-up grant from The International Osprey Foundation, Bierregaard has been doing environmental education in the Dominican Republic.The message is that ospreys eat fish, not chickens, so don’t shoot them. “Everyone has chickens and many think that any raptor is a threat to their chickens,” said Bierregaard. “My good friends at the Peregrine Fund have offered to receive contributions to support this effort and get the money down to the D.R.” Anyone wishing to help spread the word down there may send a contribution, earmarked for Osprey Conservation/Dominican Republic, to: The Peregrine Fund, 5668 West Flying Hawk Lane, Boise, Idaho 83709.

AudubonBird CountThe 2009 Audubon Christmas 2009 Bird Count on Sanibel and Captiva included 274 ospreys out of a total of 8,196 of 89 different species.

Early BirdsThe osprey nest near the intersection of Summerlin Road and Shell Point Drive, Fort Myers, just east of Sanibel Island, continues to be the first active nest of the season. As early as October 2 last year, the pair was seen busily adding nest material and rearranging the furniture!

Jay pesters osprey A Steller’s jay repeatedly pestered a female osprey in Gold Beach Oregon, last summer as seen in this photograph by Bonnie Sattler. When the osprey left, the jay disappeared into the trees behind the nest area. He then just vanished altogether.

Osprey Among UK Birds ReboundingAccording to a December 2009 article in the U.K. Guardian, Britain’s birds have seen a dramatic reversal of fortune over the past decade. Almost 60 percent of Britain’s rarest birds, including once near-extinct species such as the bittern, avocet and osprey, have increase in number, said the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). Rare birds that breed in Britain have fared better than their more common cousins, with many species, including starlings, nightingales and cuckoos, in decline.

Port Isabel Residents Rescue OspreyDebbie Hadsall was standing on her mom’s deck, watching a windy and rainy storm pass through. She noticed an osprey having difficulty flying in the high winds. Suddenly, a second osprey swooped down and hit the first osprey. The impact caused it to fall into the canal. In distress, the raptor swam around and appeared to be drowning. According to Tom Bergsma, of Port Isabel, Texas, who has been known to work with ospreys, the bird was rescued with some difficulty and placed in a dog carrier until she could be taken to the vet at the Brownsville Zoo for treatment. The next day, though she looked a little ruffled, it was decided release her and see if she could fly. “Quickly jumping out, she hopped twice and took off flying, no worse for wear,” Bergsma said.

Osprey Foundation Has Lost A Great Friend Dr. Francis Norman Bowles, Jr., 78, died peacefully on Sunday, April 26, 2009 after a long illness. He practiced pathology in Atlanta, Ga. and retired to Sanibel Island in 1985. He most recently lived in Fort Myers at Calusa Harbor. Norman will undoubtedly be the all time favorite board member of The International Osprey Foundation, says Tim Gardner, president. “He will always be remembered as being absolutely full of unbounded energy and, to a large extent, was the wisdom and Grand Master of the Osprey Foundation. Thank you, Norman. We will never forget you.”“He always had a smile and once you heard his laugh, you would never forget it. His interests and efforts to help ospreys is the epitome of what conservation work is all about. He will be missed,” said Mark “Bird” Westall, project director for TIOF. “I remember him for his genuine Southern charm - he was a true gentleman,” said Anne Mitchell, TIOF vice-president. He was always fun to be around and I’ll miss him.”

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T-ShirTS AvAilAbleOur popular T-shirts in white, 100% cotton, feature a large osprey head in brown with yellow eye. Price is $15 each, including shipping.

Name _____________________________________________________________________

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Quantity: Small ________ Medium ________ Large ________ Extra Large _________

Total T-Shirts ____________ Total Amount Enclosed $ ___________

Send with check or money order to:TIOF, P.O. Box 250, Sanibel, FL 33957

The InternationalOsprey Foundation

Sanibel

P.O. box 250Sanibel island, Fl 33957

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SANIBEL, FLPERMIT NO. 2

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_________Please enroll me as a member of TIOF_________Please renew my membership in TIOFCheck Membership Category:

_____ 6. Donor $250

_____ 7. Life $500

_____ 8. Student (to Under- graduate level) $8

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MAIL TO: TIOF, P.O. Box 250, Sanibel, FL 33957, USA