Pray for the Osprey

by Enrico Ventura

April 16, 2007

REAL estate development in Mandurah Quays is threatening the existence of osprey birds after elaborate efforts were made to protect them two years ago.

Just off the path at Walpole Street, Mandurah, an artificial osprey nest stands tall, the pinnacle of city council and real estate industry collaboration.

“It is a great pity that the birds are being threatened again,” said Birds Australia (WA) conservation staffer Rod Davis, “but I do not think there is a great threat to the [overall] osprey population.

A while back, Mandurah City Council and landowner Mirvac Fini, erected the artificial osprey nest (pictured). The Osprey’s original nest was not identified during the land subdivision process, and Mirvac cleared it to build today’s residential estates.

Now, however, a proposal placed before Mandurah council to build homes directly behind the metal nesting pole could disrupt Osprey flight patterns, says a concerned local.

“Developing two to three storey houses around the nest would definitely affect the osprey’s flight path,” said John Elliot who’s lived near the nesting pole for five years. “Osprey, like many other birds, need to land into the breeze.

“Roofs and television antennas would do nothing to help them. The new developments would limit their landing radius by 180 degrees.”

Mr Elliot’s concerns not only lie in the future of the Osprey, a member of the raptor family, but also in the state of nearby wetlands.

“Only recently, Mirvac pumped out millions of litres of the Peel’s water and irrigated it into their developments,” Mr Elliot said. “Trees are now starting to die.”

A spokesperson for Mandurah council said today: “We have the osprey’s best interest at heart and are currently establishing the buffer areas.”

Ospreys nest for nine months of the year, spending three months perching in the open. They reach up to 60 cm in length, and have a wingspan of 1.8m. They’re one of the few fish-eating birds that dive feet-first into the water.

Calls to Mirvac went unreturned.