New nests....

Our population of Ospreys is booming this year. We have found nine new nests so far this year. First let me define what we mean by a "new" nest. It may seem obvious but the way scientists count and calculate data can be diverse and In some cases downright misleading. When we are counting nests, we are not actually counting a pile of sticks....we are counting breeding territories, which also means we are counting breeding pairs, and are documenting the expansion of this reintroduced population. In other words, if a nest blows down in a storm and is rebuilt in the same place by the same pair of Ospreys, it is NOT counted as a new nest. It's just new sticks in a pre existing territory. Also if a pre existing nesting territory has one new bird, it is not a new nest. Even if it's a totally new pair, it is still not a new nest. If an existing nest is used for years, then is not occupied for one or more years and then is reoccupied, it is not a new nest. It is still counted as the same nesting territory. When a pair of Ospreys nests unsuccessfully, eggs do not hatch or chicks die, and they then build what is called a "frustration nest"....a new nest near an existing nest, built by the same pair of Ospreys, it is NOT counted as a new nest, since this would be counting the same pair of Ospreys twice, which can lead to artificially inflated numbers. This is why identifying the Ospreys is important. Some of this does become more difficult as we have fewer and fewer banded Ospreys, but we can still often identify a frustration nest by the timing of the nest building and the proximity to another failed nest.
When a new pair builds a new nest in a totally new place , where no nest has ever been occupied previously, THAT is considered a new nesting territory. So our criteria of what we call a new nest is very carefully thought out so we can actually document the expansion of our population of Ospreys without misleading or inflating the numbers. We are always very careful about the terms and methods used and if we don't know something or are not sure about something, we will state that. We try not to jump to conclusions without factual evidence to support our comments.
So to find this many new nests this early in the breeding season is important. Most of these nests have been found by me or my volunteers, but a few have been reported to us by some one in the public or some property managers. We are very grateful for those reports. I am sure there are some we don't know about and we continue to make pleas for the public to keep their eyes open and to let us know as they discover new nests being built on cell towers, Ballfield lights, transmission towers and other man made structures. Thanks to all who contribute to the success and accuracy of our research!