Tragedy strikes Glacier Park's webcam ospreys

Tragedy struck a popular pair of ospreys in Glacier National Park when one of the birds was electrocuted after it touched power lines near its nest.

The osprey nest is located on the edge of the St. Mary Visitor Center parking lot. In 2009, the Park trained a webcam on the nest, and it soon became one of the most popular features in the summer months on the Park's Web site, Park webmaster Bill Hayden said.

The nest sits on a platform that was erected by Glacier Electric Cooperative to discourage birds from nesting on nearby poles that supply the visitor center with power. But the power lines are still delicately close, and the bird likely touched the wires when flying near the nest. An osprey has a wingspan of 5 to 6 feet.

The birds, which eat almost exclusively fish, migrate from the southern U.S. and Central America each spring to nest and raise their young. The pair had begun nesting when, on either May 18 or May 19, one of the pair - Park officials think it was the male - struck both electric wires at the same time, killing it.

But now there is hope. Hayden said a pair of birds have been seen at the nest site, creating two theories - the surviving female found a new mate, or a new pair of birds took over the nest.

Whether they'll nest successfully this year seems in doubt. Lisa Bate, the Park's lead wildlife technician, said it's unlikely the birds will nest this late into the season, but it's been so cold this spring it seems as if birds are nesting a few weeks later, so there is a glimmer of hope.

"It wouldn't be unbelievable," she said.

It takes raptors like ospreys nearly three months to incubate eggs and rear their young into adults. Not only do they have to learn to fly, they must also learn to hunt. In Glacier Park, the growing season for birds is decidedly short - snow starts falling in many locations by September.

Bate said she plans to meet with Glacier Electric this week to see if they can come up with a solution to birds being electrocuted by the lines. She said last year a fledgling great-horned owl struck the same lines and broke a wing. It later had to be euthanized.