Ospreys make their home on top of radio towers

The birds have been nesting on the station towers for several years.

By Denise Dick

NEW SPRINGFIELD — The Western Reserve Road towers of WKBN Radio are the nesting place for ospreys, who perhaps like talk radio or the syndicated national news.

The birds pick high spots near bodies of water to nest. “That’s not uncommon,” said Jamey Graham, wildlife communication specialist for the Ohio Division of Wildlife of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

The osprey diet consists mostly of fish. The towers aren’t far from Evans Lake.

“Ospreys live almost anywhere where there are safe nest sites and shallow water with abundant fish,” according to a Web site of the Ohio Division of Wildlife. They fly high above the water’s surface, searching for fish. Upon seeing one, they fold their wings and dive, with their talons hitting the water first.

Bill Kelly, vice president/market manager at Clear Channel, which operates the station, said at least one tower has been the nesting spot for ospreys for several years. The birds were first brought to Kelly’s attention years ago by station engineers.

“They don’t bother us, and we don’t bother them,” he said.

He cautioned, though, that while the birds are welcome at the transmission site, because of safety reasons, the public is not.

“A transmission site is a very dangerous place for someone who’s not in the broadcasting business,” Kelly said.

No trespassing is allowed.

But neither the birds nor the station’s signal are in any danger, he said.

Ospreys are bright white underneath with dark brown patches near their feet and brown around their necks. They usually grow to 25 inches in length and weigh 3 pounds with a 4-to-5-foot wingspan.

Jeff Harvey, president of the Audubon Society of Mahoning Valley, said there are ospreys on a tower near Berlin Reservoir and near Mosquito Creek as well. It’s not so uncommon anymore.

“They’ve come back a lot,” Harvey said.

Last year, the Ohio Wildlife Council moved ospreys, bald eagles and peregrine falcons from the state’s list of endangered species to the threatened- species list.

All three species are still federally protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, the wildlife division said. The bald eagle has protection under the Bald Eagle and Golden Eagle Protection Act. Killing any threatened or endangered species can result in a significant criminal charge and fines.

In 1996, the state embarked on its osprey-reintroduction program with a goal of 20 nesting pairs of ospreys by 2010, the Division of Wildlife’s Web site says. That was achieved in 2003.

denise_dick@vindy.com