Ospreys on the Patuxent Online
|
Join us to learn about ospreys, the often-seen “fish hawk” of local rivers and the Chesapeake Bay, with Patuxent River Park's senior naturalist Greg Kearns. Roughly one-fourth of the ospreys in the continental U.S. nest in Chesapeake Bay. But the birds suffered massive declines in the 1950s and 60s due to widespread use of the pesticide DDT. In this talk, Kearns will discuss osprey biology, his banding program with the public, reintroduction efforts, how this once-imperiled bird became a conservation success story and how ospreys are doing today. Greg Kearns has been a Senior Park Naturalist for the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (MNCPPC) at the Patuxent River Park in Prince George’s County, Maryland, for over 40 years. He is an expert on the wetland ecology of the Patuxent, a licensed bird bander, and a renowned authority on Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) and the Sora rail (Porzana carolina). During Greg’s career at Patuxent River Park, he has spearheaded an osprey nest platform and banding program spanning a portion of the tidal Patuxent River. Greg and his interns have installed and maintained over 100 osprey nest platforms along 25 miles of river and banded over 5000 adult and juvenile Ospreys. |