James Cook University’s Daintree Canopy Crane has become home to a growing family of nesting ospreys, with a live-streamed camera giving viewers a front-row seat to the birds’ journey to parenthood.
Perched high above the World Heritage-listed Wet Tropics rainforest and overlooking the Coral Sea, the osprey pair is currently caring for two eggs in a nest built on the tip of the university’s 47-metre-high canopy crane.
The crane is the centrepiece of the Daintree Rainforest Observatory, a research field station in Far North Queensland that includes laboratories and a large lecture theatre.
Daintree Rainforest Observatory manager Johan Larson said the birds have been using the crane as a nesting site for more than 15 years.
“Ospreys like to nest in really high exposed locations … tall trees or rock outcrops, even on man-made structures,” Johan said.
“Over 15 years ago, they realised that the canopy crane is a great structure to nest on.”
Ospreys can live for up to 25 years, and researchers believe the nest belongs to the same breeding pair that returns to the crane each year.
Johan said the birds usually nest during the earlier part of the year and stop maintaining the nest after their chicks have fledged.
“The adults still hang around the crane, we see them year around, but they don’t use the nest then,” he said.
“There’s usually between two to three eggs every year. They lay one egg and then there’s a day or two before the next egg.
“It takes about five weeks before the eggs hatch and another seven or so weeks before they’ll actually fledge.”
Ospreys typically nest close to water because fish make up most of their diet. Live camera footage shows both birds continue to hunt during the nesting period, although the female spends more time incubating the eggs while the male focuses on bringing food back to the nest.
“Often the male will bring fish back to the female,” Johan said.
“They will dive from 10 to 30 meters into the water, catch a big fish and bring it back to the nest. You can imagine them trying to take off with a big fish and with their wings in the water … they’re very strong flyers.
“They carry those fish in a particular way, usually with their head facing forwards. It’s more aerodynamic that way.”
Building a nest on the crane is not always easy. Observatory staff remove the nests each year so essential maintenance can be carried out on the crane, meaning the birds must start again the following season.
“It’s fascinating to watch them,” Johan said.
“They’ll bring the first stick on top of the metal structure, and then the wind will catch it and it kind of swivels and then falls through the gap. They take a deep breath, go get another stick, try again.
“It’s actually pretty quick once they get started. It only takes a few weeks.”
The Canopy Crane live feed allows people around the world to watch the birds around the clock while enjoying views of the Daintree rainforest and surrounding coastline.
