After receiving positive feedback from four local birders regarding yesterday's posting about Berlin Lake Area Osprey nests, I ventured out this morning, Sunday; to verify their additional site reports, and see if I could find some others. I did. In all, ten more nest locations were found, bringing the two day total to twenty successful nest sites. Of the ten today, nine were on cell towers and one on a high tension tower. Cell towers seem to be a key nesting factor with fourteen of twenty on them. Of note is the observation that any tower with a flashing light on top, had no nest. Another observation is the fact that no Bald Eagles were observed during the two day nest census. In reference, with all the Bald Eagles that are present in Conneaut Harbor in Ashtabula County, very seldom is an Osprey seen there. Coincidence?
With the twenty nests, and two adults per nest, plus an average of two or more near adult size juveniles ready to fledge at each nest site, the total of eighty plus Ospreys is remarkable. I believe this has to be the largest concentration of Ospreys in the State of Ohio. What will next year be like with forty plus youngsters dispersing? Yesterday's post for reference follows.
 
Bob Lane / Mahoning County
 
Berlin Lake touches into three counties, northeastern Stark, southeastern Portage, and northwestern Mahoning. This morning while having my coffee, I decided to take a ride in my neighborhood and check on how successful the Osprey nesting was this year, around the Berlin Lake Area. I found ten nests, there are probably more to be found, all with an average of two juveniles, sometimes three. This years kids all looked to be about ready to fledge. Both adults were present at most of the sites. About twenty youngsters for 2015 for this relatively small area, is pretty amazing. 40+/- Ospreys for a two hour ride in Ohio, not bad. Of the ten nests, five were on cell towers, two on placed hacking poles, two on wooden utility poles, and one on a high tension tower. No trees! The two on the cross bars of the wooden utility poles are right on the edge of the road and amazingly down low. These you need to see. The locations of these two are the southeast corner of Greenbower Street NE and SR225, and just west of the Deerfield Circle on the southside of US224, you can't miss them. To think back in the early nineteen eighties, I can, an Osprey in this area was a reasonably rare sighting. My how times have changed. They seem to love the cell towers. A map of the nest locations found today can be provided upon request. If anyone finds a location not shown on my map, please let me know about it.
 

            
                                          
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