01:03 PM EDT on Wednesday, April 20, 2005
By Arthur Gregg Sulzberger
Journal Staff Writer
JAMESTOWN -- When ospreys returned to the island several weeks ago, exhausted after nearly a month of travel from the warm shores of South and Central America, several birds discovered that they had been pegged for reality programming stardom.
Their nest, which sits on small platform 30 feet above the ground, had been outfitted with a small video camera, a wireless transmitter and a solar panel. Elsewhere on the island several bird-loving locals worked busily to transfer a live feed from the nest directly online.
The ospreys didn't appear to mind the extra equipment, but were initially, at least, a little camera shy. Not only did the black-and-white birds seem unfazed by the large metal arm that suspends the camera above their nest, but the couple quickly adopted it as a favorite roosting spot, whiling away hours out of site of the camera until the project crew put up a barrier preventing the birds from hiding.
On a sunny April day, Betsy Gooding sits on a small stone wall across North Main Road from the nest, watching the birds as her feet dangle just above a row of budding daffodils.
"Everyone has sort of looked at the birds as a harbinger of spring. The ospreys return and the daffodils bloom," says Gooding, a board member of the Jamestown Education Foundation which donated $2,000 in seed money for the equipment. The project was the brainchild of Chris Powell, a biologist with the state Department of Environmental Management and chairman of the Jamestown Conservation Commission.
If all goes according to plan, the Web site www.conanicutraptors.org will be up and running by the end of this month. It will boast streaming video, which would show real-time movements of the birds in their feathery domesticity in time to watch the young hatch. The camera is also equipped with infrared light, so the nocturnal watchers can get their osprey fix even in the wee hours.
The vision extends further. To prevent the questionable driving that occurs along the short stretch of North Main Road as drivers crane their necks to catch a glimpse of the birds, the project has won town approval for a small pull-out area, that will feature a wheelchair accessible platform complete with a donated spotting scope.
The project has already coordinated with local elementary and middle schools which will study the birds using the Web site and a New Hampshire curriculum called "Return of the Fish Hawk."
The raptors provide a bounty of educational opportunities, says Gooding.
Children can study the remarkable biology of the birds, which mate for life, return to the same nest annually, and raise up to three chicks a year. Also known as fish hawks, the three-pound birds are the only raptor that can actually dive into water in pursuit of a scaly meal, says Powell.
Then, there is the tragic, but ultimately hopeful environmental legacy of the bird, which was pushed toward extinction in the 1960s because of the widespread use of a popular pesticide DDT, but has since recovered to healthy levels.
And the annual three-week, 2,000-mile winter migration of the bird provides the perfect opportunity to explore the geography and politics of Central and South America where most ospreys spend their winters. One of the Jamestown fledglings will be tagged with a donated $4,000 transmitter to track its Southern progress online via satellite.
"There is so much that we don't know that we are looking forward to learning," says Gooding excitedly.
Well, not exactly. Given their healthy population levels and presence on every continent save for Antarctica, ospreys are very well-documented. One can watch pairs from Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and even England in their feathery domesticity on the Internet, thanks to the many similar osprey-cam projects around the country.
A quick perusal of some of those online offerings yesterday, showed that birdwatching, even on the Internet, requires a great deal of patience. One camera showed a nest empty save for a single egg, another showed a vigilant osprey perched at the end of the large nest, cocking its head from side to side for the better part of an hour.
The Jamestown project was far from effortless. There have been bumps along the way.
Karen Potter is one of several residents to voice concern about the project.
Potter, a self-professed nature lover who passes the nest in Marsh Meadows several times a day, says she doesn't question the motivation behind the project, but said she feels the birds should be left alone.
"My objection is to the camera, the solar panel, the fact that they want to put in an observation deck," she says. "I just think it takes away from the beauty of the marsh. It takes away from the grandeur of the bird."
Others share her sentiment. One anonymous artist sent a cartoon to local newspapers, depicting how the project would turn the serene island into a bird-loving circus, replete with trash, traffic, obnoxious tourists, a hot dog stand and even an idolatory sign advertising Raptorville
"I agree that it's kind of ugly," said Gooding. "But once the Web site is up and they see the images and understand the educational opportunities, I think most people will be approving of the project."
The project has only grown more ambitious. Once known as the Osprey Project, Powell and Gooding have turned their attention elsewhere in the bird world and given the effort the more encompassing title Conanicut Island Raptor Project.
"We have our eye next on a peregrine falcon," says Gooding. One is nesting on the Pell Bridge.
Donations can be sent to: The Raptor Project, care of the Jamestown Education Foundation, 77 Narragansett Ave., Jamestown, RI 02835.

CORRECTION: An earlier headline on this story incorrectly indicated that the site, www.conanicutraptors.org, was already operating.