Osprey Nesting Platform

Kankakee Valley REMC Donated and Installed an Osprey Nesting Platform and Educational Signage at The Coffee Creek Preserve

Chesterton, Indiana, 9.18.2020
On September 18, 2020, the Coffee Creek Watershed Conservancy (CCWC) installed a 35 foot Osprey Nesting Platform within the Coffee Creek Preserve. The nest platform is part of a greater national effort to promote the conservation of Osprey through providing safe nesting structures located near food sources (creeks, rivers, lakes, etc.).
“Ospreys are a predatory bird in the Hawk family, and are the only Hawk that feed almost exclusively on fish,” says CCWC Stewardship Manager, Matt Harmon. He adds, “Much like the American Bald Eagle, Osprey populations were once declining from the 1950’s to the 1970’s due to the impact of the pesticide DDT, which was ultimately banned in 1972. But also like the Bald Eagle, due to conservation efforts, stable populations of this bird have now been documented across North America.” A conservation success story that the Coffee Creek Watershed Conservancy, the 501(c)3 Non-Profit Organization that owns and operates the 157 acre Coffee Creek Preserve, hopes to bring to visitors with a potential active Osprey nest in the Spring.
The Osprey pole was erected in partnership with Kankakee Valley REMC, who donated the 40 foot telephone pole and the labor of the installation. The nesting platform, the flat structure at the top of the pole used by the birds as a nesting base, was donated by lifelong Chesterton resident and carpenter, Andy Katzmarek.
“Coffee Creek Watershed Conservancy always aims to educate visitors about our natural world through touch, observation, and connectivity to native flora and fauna,” states CCWC Board Member, Ed Spanopoulos. He adds, “Osprey migrate out of the area in the Fall and return in the Spring. We hope to see some nesting activity as early as next year.” The new Osprey Nesting Platform, located just Southwest of Phillip’s Pond, can be viewed at the Preserve from dawn to dusk.