Submitted by Port of Olympia
pole which is easily visible from Port Plaza.
Last spring, while Port of Olympia staff were in the design phase for installing osprey nesting platforms on Marine Terminal light poles, a pair nested within the light structure of one of the poles. During the summer, Port staff monitored the nest and watched the two chicks grow and leave the nest.
In the meantime, Port staff continued their efforts to design, construct, and install osprey nest platforms on light poles prior to the 2016 nesting season.
Staff recently installed, under the watchful eye of the Black Hills Audubon Society (BHAS), the first of two platforms on the light pole directly north of the Port Plaza. The second platform, anticipated for installation in December, will be located at the northern end of the Marine Terminal near the Hearthfire Grill Restaurant.
Both locations have close proximity to Budd Inlet, which ospreys need, and also offer the community easy viewing opportunities.
Executive Director Ed Galligan credits BHAS for encouraging the Port to attract a variety of birds for community enjoyment. “BHAS has brought us many bird houses which are now attracting birds around the peninsula,” said Galligan. “We were also working together to design osprey poles and platforms, but the ospreys got ahead of us. This coming season we are offering improved accommodations!” he said.
About the Port of Olympia
The southernmost deepwater port on Puget Sound, the Port of Olympia owns and operates an international shipping terminal that handles a range of breakbulk and project cargoes. The Port also owns and operates Swantown Marina & Boatworks, a 733-slip recreational marina and boat haulout/repair facility, a regional airport and a real estate division. A community port, it generates an estimated 7,249 total direct, induced and indirect jobs as documented by Martin Associates in the 2009 data study, The Economic Impact of the Port of Olympia, January 2011, available at www.portolympia.com.
