LONGVIEW — For the first time in two years, beloved Cowlitz PUD osprey cam pair Electra and Wattsworth have successfully raised a fledgling to maturity.
Cowlitz Public Utility District staff attribute the success to newly installed screens to keep out bald eagles looking to feed on chicks.
The story behind this young bird’s journey from hatchling to fledgling begins over 20 years ago. In 2000, the Cowlitz Public Utility District noticed an osprey pair was nesting on one of its distribution poles. Eager to provide the pair with their best chance of raising chicks, the PUD set up an alternative nesting platform for the birds.
Every year since then, osprey pairs have been using the platform to raise their young, and many Cowlitz residents have religiously tuned into watch the chicks’ progression.
As of late October, the Cowlitz PUD Osprey Cam’s Facebook page has nearly 2,000 followers.
In 2016, with the support of Brian Magnuson, who linked the camera to his home Wi-Fi network, Cowlitz PUD launched the osprey cam to operate around the clock.
“We love to bring a different aspect of our important utility work to our customers through this unique project,” Cowlitz PUD Environmental Compliance Manager Amanda Farrar said.
Unfortunately, the eggs that Electra laid in 2021 and 2022 did not survive. In 2021, the hatchlings ultimately starved or passed away from heat exhaustion, because of the unprecedented high temperatures of the summer. And in 2022, all three hatchlings were snatched by bald eagles.
This year, Electra laid three eggs, only one of which hatched. The hatchling was nurtured by its parents for months before migrating in September.
Farrar believes the success of this year’s chick is all thanks to the nest platform upgrade that includes metal screens on two sides.
“The reason for (the screens’ installation) was due to the fact that a bald eagle took all three chicks at roughly 3 weeks of age in 2022,” Farrar said. “The osprey pair did their best to protect the nest but were no match for the speed of the bald eagle swooping in and taking the chicks over the course of two days.”
The osprey pair, along with their chick, have migrated south for the season, but will return in the spring to raise more hatchlings.
Tune into Cowlitz PUD Osprey Cam’s Facebook page in late March 2024 to witness the return of Electra and Wattsworth.
