Osprey on display at Moraine State Park
WORTH TWP — The Butler County Tourism Bureau kicked off its video streaming of an osprey nest Wednesday in Moraine State Park.
The webcam continuously live streams activity of a nest along the North Shore of Lake Arthur.
The Moraine Preservation Fund was responsible for launching the project and will stream the nestcam video when website contributions can support the feature.
Until then, the bureau, from which the fund received some grant money, will pay for the streaming, according to Jack Cohen, the bureau's president.
“We're excited for Butler County and our region to have this webcam that allows everyone the opportunity to watch the habits of the osprey,” Cohen said. “Moraine Preservation Fund is doing great things, and we look forward to raising awareness about our wildlife.”
The osprey, also commonly known as a “fish hawk,” typically dives into water to feast on fish. The birds have dark brown wings, a white breast and a wingspan of up to 6 feet.
Cohen said the park organization plans to remove the cameras in the winter months and reinstall them each March. He said this will allow people to watch as osprey return from winter migration to lay their eggs and raise their young.
“We want the people to see that every year, just like the eagle cams that are out there,” Cohen said.
Ospreys, which were an endangered species until 2017, typically lay two or three clutches of eggs a season, with two to four eggs in each clutch. It takes about 40 days for an egg to hatch.
The current population of osprey that calls Moraine home was reintroduced by a group of preservation fund volunteers in the early 1990s.
“Those folks brought those birds here and raised them and hatched them, and now they come back here every year,” he said.
Cohen said he hopes the video camera will be a long-standing feature.
“We'll continue to use that camera as long as the birds are here,” he said.
To watch the 24-hour camera, visit www.visitbutlercounty.com, or later at www.morainepreservationfund.org.
