Baby osprey takes flight before falling

At 9:30 a.m. on Sunday morning, May 18, one of the two baby ospreys in a nest at Lake Murray took a fall.

Last year, two baby ospreys fell out of the same manmade nest that is situated near the two-mile marker on the Lake Murray service road. SDG&E built the nest about 20 years ago because the natural osprey nests kept catching fire atop the transmission poles.

Reuben, one of the lake staff, was quick to respond to the emergency on Sunday. Chris, Bridgette, and another Lake Murray birdwatcher said they saw the baby sitting on a wood beam when it started to practice flapping its wings. Then, it slipped off the beam and was forced to take a flight that it was not prepared to take.

The bird flew a short distance and turned to come back to the nest. It hit a wire and fell to the ground below. Bicycles were speeding by and the bird managed to get under a nearby bench.

Reuben was alerted and made a speedy trip to pick up the baby osprey and get it to Project Wildlife.

Last year, Project Wildlife CEO Lisa Culver kept the public updated on the two ospreys’ health after they fell out of the nest. This year, Beth Ugoretz, the new CEO, will try and do the same.