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The Smith
Mountain Lake State Park Osprey Program was organized in 2003 and started in 2004 with the eretion of a pole in the water.
The pole was moved on land in 2006 to make maintenance of the camera easier. Funding was provided by Appalachian Power,
The Virginia Society of Ornithology, Friends of the Smith Mountain Lake State Park, Smith Mountain Mountain Lake State Park
and others. The purpose of the project was not only to provide a nesting site for Ospreys on the lake, but to be a conerstone in the Park's Environmental Education Outreach Program. A live camera feed of the nest to the Park's Discovery Center allows school children and the General public to study the birds.
This year our ospreys returned to the nest on March 22. On April 9th three eggs arrived with two hatching on May 19 and the third hatching on May 21. It is quite unusual for three chicks to survive as they have this year. The young birds recently fledged but remain in the area. You might still view them at the Discovery Center either on camera or in the area of the nest until approximately mid or late September when they will leave the area.
Click on the picture to see a gallery of osprey pictures. Photos by Ted Pratt. |
