REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. - A pair of osprey have returned to nest atop the Rehoboth Beach Fire Company siren. Osprey have been nesting atop the siren for the past several years.
Osprey are migratory raptors that go south during the winter and live along our coast during the warmer months. Osprey also are known to mate for life, so it is likely the current pair is the same pair that have nested on the siren in previous years.
An osprey takes flight from a tower near the Rehoboth Beach Fire Company.
Recently deterrents had been placed atop the siren and a nearby tower to keep the osprey away. A traffic cone had been placed atop the siren while fake owls had been placed in several spots on the nearby tower. Looking beneath the nest, large piles of debris can be seen on a patio behind the fire company.
A large pile of sticks and other debris could be seen on a patio beneath the nest at the Rehoboth Beach Fire Company.
These deterrents appear to have not phased this pair of osprey as they are hard at work making a nest following their migration south during the winter.
A traffic cone had been placed atop the fire siren to deter the osprey from nesting.
“They put this cone in there and the birds came back, the birds really wanted to be there, they’ve made a beautiful nest,” exclaimed Mary Ann Brewer and Carol Scileppi, two friends who took a moment to gaze at the birds of prey.
Since osprey nests are protected by federal and state law, the Rehoboth Beach Fire Company will be required to remove the deterrents as soon as possible. A representative for the fire company was not able to speak with CoastTV today.
These pair of osprey will stay atop the fire siren through the fall before migrating south again for the winter. Once the osprey leave, if the fire company would like to remove the nest, they must receive permission from DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife.