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.