During the annual Stockton Service Day, September 10, 2011, I participated in the construction of several osprey nests. The project was headed by Jon Rosky, a part time professor at Richard Stockton. He supplied the needed materials (lumber, power tools, screws, etc.) and helped students in the actual construction as well. While we called the finished work osprey “nests”, these were really just a jump start or structural base for the parent osprey to build off of. We constructed a square frame with a partial base to act as a foundation for the actual nest to be built in. On the one finalized nest, we also attached a support pillar, constructed of a large railroad tie. A metal sleeve was placed over a section of the railroad tie to prevent raccoons from getting to the egg laden nest. Two-by-fours were also positioned several inches off of two sides of the nest to act as a means of flight practice for the growing chicks.
All of this was done as part of an effort to help the local osprey population. By creating and installing these man-made nests in the surrounding forests and natural sights, these birds are given a better chance of survival. As an on-campus event, this was just a one-time construction. However, the effort of building these osprey nests is an ongoing project which myself and one other student from that days service project offered to participate in. I myself found this effort very enjoyable and practical. I hope that I will be able to give more aid to this project, and that we can have a positive effect on the local osprey population.

Taylor Lee