The Westport River is host to many amazing animals but Ospreys have a special place in our community. Excessive use of pesticides caused Osprey numbers to plummet in the Westport River during the 1950s and 1960s. Over the past 50 years through the combined efforts of Gil Fernandez, Alan Poole and many other dedicated volunteers, the Osprey rebounded and reclaimed nesting areas throughout the River. Today the Allens Pond Osprey monitor, with the help of dozens of local volunteers, keeps track of the Westport Osprey breeding success and maintains the exisiting Osprey platforms. To ensure these efforts continue in future generations the Westport River Watershed Alliance has compiled a curriculum dedicated to teaching about these amazing birds through the Ospreys Are Special program.

Students have a chance to learn about habitats, food webs and ways that pollution enters our streams. Classrooms study the natural history of Osprey and track their migration patterns. At the end of the lesson students try to be ornithologists, recording eggs in “nests” and learning to read Osprey leg bands.

New Bedford Voc Tech High School students build an Osprey Platform display for visitors

This past winter students from the Greater New Bedford Vocational Technical High School learned about the Westport Osprey Project through a series of visits from Allens Pond's Osprey Monitor. In collaboration with Allens Pond the students are working to put together an Osprey platform display which will allow visitors to view a nesting platform up close. They conducted careful research in preparation for creating the platform design and are in the process of building the platform. Their plans include a model of an Osprey nest with eggs so that visitors will have the opportunity to peek into the nest.

Check out more of the students' work in progress.

The students will be presenting their displays at the upcoming Ospreyfest on Sunday, May 31 from 3-5pm. Join WRWA and Allens Pond for an Osprey celebration free and open to the public located at 2031 and 2037 Main Rd., Westport Point, MA.

Jr. Bird Club members help out with Osprey monitoring

On a mild evening during the first week of May, 2009 the Mass Audubon Allens Pond Jr.

Bird Club set out with Osprey monitor Becky Cushing to help check an Osprey nesting platform at the edge of Allens Pond. Allens Pond staff and visitors had noted that the Osprey pair were incubating for the past several weeks but we had yet to count the number of eggs.

The small group of Jr. Birders approached the nest as a silent, compact group to minimize the impact on the birds and the marsh. Using a small extension ladder to climb the nest we were able to peer inside and observe three eggs -- a typical full clutch.

In February, 2010 the Allens Pond Jr. Bird Club built four new Osprey platforms to replace damaged and missing platforms on the Westport River, Allens Pond and the Slocum River. More than 20 Jr. Birders and their parents worked for two hours to complete the task.

The Jr. Bird Club is a free program run by Mass Audubon’s Allens Pond Wildlife Sanctuary for children of all ages with a curiosity for birds and the natural world. They meet the first Wednesday of the month, 6:30-7:30pm. For more information email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call the Sanctuary (508) 636-2437.