New webcam location gives viewers a better look at nest 

 Just in time to provide another entertainment option for those sheltering at home, a pair of ospreys arrived at Lake Capote in late March. The birds have begun rebuilding their nest, and all the activity can be seen via the Osprey Webcam at https://www.lakecapote.com/osprey-cam/ 

Wildlife Division staff and Osprey Cam fans were happy to see the pair and are hoping to see a successful nesting season. Last year was in some ways a disappointment: a nesting attempt began in early April 2019, and a single egg was laid. However, due to a fatal injury to the female, this nesting effort failed. A new osprey pair took over the nest shortly thereafter, and two eggs were laid, but incubation and hatching failed. As a result, no osprey chicks were produced in 2019. 

Wildlife Technician Jon Broholm said the staff and the birds got a little extra help this year. “Tribal members Sam Maez and Alyas Maez met us at the base of the nest pole earlier this year, and performed a blessing to ask the Creator to watch over the birds and our staff who are working on the project,” Broholm said. “We were very grateful for that, and we are off to a good start this Spring.” 

Other assistance this year came from La Plata Electric association, in the form of a new pole for the camera, about 30 feet away from the pole the nest is on. “This allowed us to get a much wider view of the nest, while greatly simplifying the camera installation,” Broholm said. “We kept the microphone on the nest pole, though. Ospreys are pretty talkative birds, so having the sound on the livestream adds a lot.” 

The ospreys will have less competition for fish – at least for the moment. As part of the Tribe’s response to COVID-19, Lake Capote is open to Southern Ute tribal members only until further notice. “Ospreys don’t keep up with the news,” Broholm joked, “so we hope they’ll just do their thing and not worry about anything else that’s going on.”