Australia is home to many rare and endangered species,
so it is always a great "privilege" when an animal
such as this comes into care. One such occasion was back
in February 1999, when Pierre the Osprey came in.
Although quite rare in Australia, the Tweed Valley is lucky
to be home to a rather healthy Osprey population. These
large birds of prey, with a wingspan of up to two metres,
frequent lakes, ponds, rivers, reservoirs, estuaries, bays,
and lagoons, feeding almost exclusively on a diet of fish.
Ospreys hunt over water, often hovering from a height of
20 metres, before plunging into the water feet first with
a quite spectacular splash.
The Osprey is supremely adapted to this hunting style.
The bottom of its feet are very rough with barbs called
spicules, and its outer toe can turn forward or backward,
helping it to grab and hold slippery fish. The Osprey's
flexible wrist helps it pull back into the air from the
water. No mean feat when you're trying to get airborne with
a large fish.
Ospreys will take advantage of just about anything that
affords them a view of the water to build their nests. Sites
include tall trees, cliffs, buildings, telephone poles,
the sides of bridges, buoys, and even wrecked ships. The
enormous, bulky nest is constructed of rough sticks. Successive
pairs of birds may add building material for several years,
(sometimes decades) resulting in a structure up to 2 metres
in diameter and a metre or more thick.
Pierre was found on the ground at Cabarita, and when he
came into care it was immediately obvious that he was one
very sick bird. Weighing just 705 grams, scrawny, hunched
up, and with his feet held into balls, Pierre was taken
straight to the vet. The vet estimated his age at 2 years
plus, and the diagnosis was poisoning. Botulism was the
suspect, because in a very wet season, the enormous quantities
of fresh water pouring down the rivers of the East coast
kill vast quantities of fish. The fish get maggots, and
fish eating birds such as Pierre (taking advantage of the
fishy bonanza) ingest these maggots, quite often resulting
in Botulism.
Pierre was immediately put on Vitamins, and the nursing
process began. "Touch and go" was an understatement
as this amazing bird continued to slide downhill. After
3 days Pierre was transferred to the Raptor specialist at
Northern Rivers Wildlife Carers, and his battle with life
and death continued, with more trips to the vet ~ on one
occasion requiring oxygen when he quite literally turned
blue.
Some stories unfortunately don't have a happy ending ~
but this one does...
Pierre's sheer will to live, combined with intensive care
and rehabilitation from both groups, saw Pierre (5 weeks
later) successfully released. His weight having climbed
to a much healthier 1105 grams, and as the photo below shows,
a very different bird to the one that came in.
