Nelson Hydro, Columbia Wireless give public an up close and in person look at a local Osprey family
By Nelson Daily Staff
Nelson Hydro and Columbia Wireless are giving the public unlimited access to life of a local osprey family.
A livestreaming webcam has been set up on top of a pole a few feet off Highway 3A west of Nelson with a view of the nest.
The nest, home to a mom and dad osprey, is on top of a pole errected by Nelson Hydro in 2013 at the end of the passing lane west of Nelson and before Grohman Narrows Park.
The webcam is set on the nest where an egg is being watched and kept safe by two osprey.
Ospreys are very easy to find around Kootenay Lake, which has one of the highest concentrations of breeding in BC.
Approximately 20 to 30 pairs nest along the West Arm between Balfour and Nelson.
Not only are Osprey pleantiful, but their nests are usually out in the open on the top of structures ranging from dead trees to pilings.
Males arrive at the Lake in early April and the females follow within a few weeks. Then breeding begins.
Adult ospreys are more than 60 cm long with a wingspan of 1.8 metres.
When hatched, newborn osprey birds weigh between 50 to 60 grams.
