Love My Boat....Unfortunately So Do Ospreys

[Breakaway]

Every time I use the boat in the spring I have to remove the beginnings of an Osprey nest from the roof of the boat. You would think they would get the hint but they are persistent. Yesterday when I came back from fishing they were sitting on my fish cleaning station waiting so they could work on there nest. I feel bad for them and would like to discourage them so they would have time to make good home.

Yesterday I left my planer boards, with flags blowing in the breeze, on the roof of the boat hoping that would be a deterrent. No such luck. Any thoughts?

[Conjuror]

Fish more often??

[Steve F]

I know a few years ago some folks were having problems with buzzards landing on their roofs and tearing the hell out of them. They put some kind of spikes on the roof and that kept them from landing on them. I don’t want to hurt the Osprey but this might be something to think about. It might be a pain in the ass to keep putting it on your top and taking it off but they will get the message after a while or you can take Conjuror suggestion…

[Breakaway]

Originally Posted by Conjuror

Fish more often??

I like the way you think!

[Mikie]

Originally Posted by Breakaway

Every time I use the boat in the spring I have to remove the beginnings of an Osprey nest from the roof of the boat. You would think they would get the hint but they are persistent. Yesterday when I came back from fishing they were sitting on my fish cleaning station waiting so they could work on there nest. I feel bad for them and would like to discourage them so they would have time to make good home.

Yesterday I left my planer boards, with flags blowing in the breeze, on the roof of the boat hoping that would be a deterrent. No such luck. Any thoughts?

Disturbing an Osprey nest is a Federal no no.

[Skip]

I've seen some boats run thin wire - kinda criss crossed so birds could not land on the boat.

Mikie is not teasing about Osprey being protected. If they lay eggs in the nest - by law , you can not remove it.
Have to leave them be - boat must sit.

[Breakaway]

Thanks Skip, I'll try the wire trick. It's far from being a nest, more like a few sticks on the roof. It's just a pain because they crap everywhere. I just need to be diligent about removing the sticks and maybe they will get the hint.

[Skip]

Ospreys are weird. Years ago when there were few due to DDT - DNR put up nice nesting boxes on pilings in quiet areas.

The ospreys preferred to nest on channel markers. The red lighted ones that blinked made the birds look like demons at night.

Some nests got so large the marker panel with number was hidden.

Great to see them coming back in good numbers.
There are a few pairs that nest under the bay bridge - up high in the steel.

[Hockleyneck]

Plastic owl or some other bird that could be an enemy to an osprey may work.

[Reverb]

Rat Poison, if all else fails....