Year after year, I’ve watched Olive and Orlando arrive from the south, build their big nest and raise a new generation of Osprey chicks.
They used to nest in a perfect habitat — the very place toward which their heads are now turned. It was located on a long, narrow strip of land jutting into Little Assawoman Bay, in Selbyville, Delaware.
Last year, an old-fashioned farm stood there, studded with big old trees in which quite a few of my seabird friends found a happy place to roost and nest. Ospreys, Herons, Egrets and Lesser Yellowlegs all felt safe here, protected from storms and predators, and wonderfully near to favorite feeding grounds.
But today my beloved Osprey couple are staring at a bulldozed mess where their beautiful nesting places used to stand.
Their expressions say it all. I feel they must be confused and disheartened. What on earth happened to our habitat? What can we do? Where can we make our nest this year?
Eventually, in an effort that breaks my heart, they try to place nesting twigs on the wholly inadequate platform on which they’re standing.
Eventually, a man who looks older than me walks by and introduces himself.
As we chat, I asked him why the nesting peninsula has been stripped bare.
He explains the farmer recently died and his kids have sold the land to a developer—who plans to build 36 luxury homes and a yacht marina on the site of this lost wildlife paradise.
Now I realize why I haven’t found my dear Great Blue Heron friends, Beau and Belle, this year. I can only hope that they, like this Osprey couple, will find a suitable place to relocate.
But this habitat for so many creatures I love and used to photograph — it has vanished. And it never will return.
I have lost a place to set my tripod and big telephoto lens, waiting for my seabird buddies to drop by.
But my Osprey, Heron and Egret friends have lost everything.
Such a searing and sad story, brought to life by wonderful, evocative photographs.
This is indeed heartbreaking, Arthur! Thank you for marking this loss, to the birds, to us, and to nature. I hope your winged friends do find another place to nest.
Of course it’s difficult to be certain, Miriam, but I’m fairly confident Orlando and Olive were able to find a new nesting place nearby, because the communities in Fenwick Island, Rehoboth, Bethany and adjacent towns along the Delaware shoreline have been especially active in helping Ospreys. I’ve seen people erecting nesting platforms in Little Assawoman Bay, Assawoman Bay and so forth.
I’m less sure about my Great Blue Heron, Little Blue Heron, Yellow-Capped Night Heron, Tricolor Heron, Green Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret and other friends, which is one reason why I’ve been relieved to find seabird families on the Isle of Wight, Maryland. I intend to explore further afield when we return to the Delaware shore come spring — especially on the firmerCape Henlopen. I’ll report back to ArthurPix followers if I find anything important in the way of protected areas for seabirds and shorebirds.