Illinois Wildlife Q&A Video: Osprey

Film Date:

November 17, 2021

Speaker:

Pat McDonald, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Forest Wildlife Program Wildlife Biometrician

Produced by:

Kathy Andrews Wright

Rick Wright

Edited by:

Sarah Marjanovic

Questions received in advance of the conversation are listed below, with the time noted should you desire to fast-forward to a topic of interest.

00:34 Pat McDonald introduction.

00:58 Overview of osprey—life history, range in Illinois and habitat requirements.

02:04 Osprey as a threatened species.

02:58 Osprey formerly was a state-endangered species that recently was downlisted to threatened species.

03:20 Causes for decline of osprey population.

03:42 Osprey Recovery Plan.

04:50 The hacking process.

06:14 Process for feeding the osprey chicks in the hack boxes; what they are fed.

07:00 Locations of the hack boxes, what they look like and why the locations were selected.

08:15 Great horned owls and bald eagles as known predators of osprey chicks.

09:00 Researchers involved in the osprey recovery project and information learned to date.

10:37 Where are the hacked birds going and are they coming back?

11:45 How old are ospreys when they start breeding?

12:17 How to report sighting of a banded osprey.

13:13 Partner organizations in the osprey recovery program.

14:30 Pat McDonald’s prior experience with ospreys.

If you are interested in viewing the text alternative for the video click the CC option at the lower margin of the video.

---

Kathy Andrews Wright is retired from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources where she was editor of Outdoor Illinois magazine. She is currently the editor of Outdoor Illinois Wildlife Journal and Illinois Audubon magazine.