This morning in the rain, I checked on some of this years active Osprey nests in and around the Berlin Lake Area. Berlin Lake stretches thru three counties in northeastern Ohio, the southwestern corner of Mahoning, the southeastern corner of Portage, and the northeastern corner of Stark. Twenty nest sites were found, there are probably more, basically the same count as last year, with two new locations, and one less nest removed from a wooden utility pole. Of the nests, 13 are on cell towers, 3 on transmission towers, 2 on wooden utility poles, and 2 on wooden hacking structures, all provided by man. Of special surprise interest, at one of the previous Osprey nest locations, I found Bald Eagles now occupying the Osprey nest. European Starlings are in the lower part of the nest. This is the first time I have found a Bald Eagle nesting on a cell tower. The location is north of German Church Street, 0.4 mile west of SR225. Amazing is the fact that during The Ohio Breeding Bird Atlas of 1982 thru 1987, there were no Osprey nests recorded in Ohio. Hard to believe now, that about twenty years ago, there were only two known nest locations at Berlin Lake. A brief description of Berlin Lake taken from US Army Corps Of Engineers data is, in summer the length of the lake at normal pool is 18.6 miles long, with 70 miles of shoreline, a surface area of 3590 acres, at an elevation of 1025 feet above sea level, and a maximum depth of 76 feet at the dam. To anyone wishing to observe an Osprey nest up close and personal, go to the southeast corner of SR225 and Greenbower Road, a short distance north of the city of Alliance. The nest is about thirty feet off the ground on the edge of the road on an old style wooden utility pole. Check out the residents in the bottom side of the nest, a colony of House Sparrows share it with the Ospreys. My wife Denise and I are lucky that we can claim Osprey as a yard bird each day, they nest on a cell tower viewable from our backyard. We live about 6.8 miles southeast of Berlin Lake. While viewing at the eagle site, a gorgeous Nashville Warbler, hope for the upcoming spring migration, gave me a up close warbler thrill.


Bob Lane / Mahoning County

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