Come out to Green Lake baseball diamond Wednesday morning to view banding of osprey nestlings

Associate Professor of Biology Memuna Khan will band osprey chicks in downtown Green Lake at 8 a.m. Wednesday. The osprey moved to a nesting platform behind the outfield of the Green Lake baseball diamond off of Lake Street. The platform was erected in 2011, but the osprey continued to use the light pole overlooking the baseball field until this spring.

The banding is the result of cooperation between Ripon College, the Green Lake Association and Alliant Energy, who bring the nestlings down from their high perch and return them when the banding is done.

Khan has banded two nestlings at the baseball diamond each year beginning in 2014. Three other nesting platforms have nests this year, but access to band those nestlings is limited. There is a chance that these other nests belong to osprey banded in previous years and efforts are underway to observe whether these adults are banded. Some studies have reported that male osprey return with 10-20 miles of the area in which they hatched. By marking these birds and identifying banded birds this project contributes to a national database about osprey reproduction, survival and movement.

All are welcome to come and watch.

(Photo: Memuna Khan bands osprey nestlings in 2015.)