Posted in Birds, Park visit

Osprey at Hoover Reservoir 2014

Posted on by Bob Platt

Once again, a mated pair of osprey is nesting on one of the platforms at the northern end of Hoover reservoir. We observed one osprey on the perch above the nesting platform. The second osprey was in the nest doing something with the eggs or perhaps newly hatched youngsters. Periodically we would see its head or tail stick up above the nest as it moved around. But because the sides of the nests are so tall, most of the time we couldn’t see it.

One parent observed from its perch while the other was doing work in the nest.


Photographing the osprey was a challenge this year, as the Hoover boardwalk was damaged during the winter and is closed and locked. Just down the road from the boardwalk parking area on Front St is a kiosk and a sign for Hoover ‘Area N’. There is a parking area nearby facing the creek. From the kiosk at area N, a trail leads to an abandoned road with a view of the lagoon and the osprey platform.

The boardwalk will remain closed until the city of Columbus gets around to fixing the damaged area.
Vertical signpost for Area N
There are two trailheads near the most distant car in this photo. The one to the left goes along the creek and is the wrong way to go if you want to see the osprey. Take the one on the right to see the osprey. The trail on the right begins as a packed dirt trail, turns into an abandoned sidewalk, and later appears to be an abandoned road bed.
The trailhead starts as a dirt path.
Later the trail turns into an abandoned sidewalk, then becomes a dirt path once again.
Later on the trail resembles a dirt road. Due to the relatively stagnant water around the road, it might be wise to take some precautions against mosquitoes as the weather warms.
Crossing wet area using a makeshift bridge.
During a return trip to this same area after several days of rain, the makeshift bridge had become impassable. Perhaps when the water level recedes, people will be able to walk through here again.
Remnants of road make for a narrow trail into the reservoir.
The nesting platform has a yellow oval around it to the right. I wanted you too see how far it was from this trail when viewed without telephoto.
Osprey turns to say, “I can see you.”
Parent watching over the nest; the other parent is hunkered down within it.

The far platform also features a large nest, we returned the following week with a spotting scope, but did not see any osprey in this nest.

This seems like a good place to go birding. I saw many birds that flitted by too fast for me to photograph. More experienced birders told us that there were a number of warbler species in the area. Below are a few birds that were easier to photograph, along with a deer that we noticed wading through the area.

European starling
Northern flicker
Red-headed woodpecker
Deer wading through fallen timber
Additional information




Location

Until the boardwalk is repaired, your best best for osprey viewing is the path at ‘Area N’.

Address: 18 Front St, Galena, Ohio 43021


View Larger Map

More on Delaware County

© Deborah Platt, Robert Platt and TrekOhio.com 2012 to 2021


Share the post "Osprey at Hoover Reservoir 2014"

Author:

One thought on “Osprey at Hoover Reservoir 2014”

Leave a Reply

You have to agree to the comment policy.

Complete the following sentence by typing either real or spam:
My comment is ...