About a week ago, my family and I were at my daughter's soccer game, rooting for her during one of the first really nice days of spring. My son, of course, was on the move, so I went to track him down every once and awhile. He was hanging out by the baseball diamond, so I touched base with him...at which point, he pointed up to the lights and said, "Hey mom, look at that!" An osprey mom and pop (and we later saw little heads) were hanging out in the nest they had built on the lights. The adults would fly out and back, perhaps looking for food. What was almost more surprising and noticeable to my son was the flapping white plastic bag that was waving in the wind, as part of the nest. (You can see it here in the picture as the white mass right under the osprey, which is in the top left hand corner of the lights structure.)
Reminded me of the Jennifer Keats Curtis environmental children's book "Osprey Adventure." In that story, Pete and his Dad ("Doc") find the exact same thing on a channel marker, though a blue bag rather than my white one. Unlike me, Doc is a wildlife expert who was trained to check osprey nests for trash (and successfully remove it without harming or scaring the bird). Not to mention, at the height of the lights, there was little I could do about the situation other than discuss it with my son. Lucky for him, he's got an eco-warrior for a mom, and was already schooled in the perils of plastic. Lucky for us both, Jennifer Keats Curtis will be visiting us this week at Eagle Cove School for our Earth Week (because one Earth Day just isn't enough at our Maryland "Green" School).
To get schooled more in the "perils of plastic" and "Osprey's Adventure" (a great book), check out the following links. (Note to self: If you see plastic trash floating about or laying around, pick it up and dispose of it properly to keep it out of the way of wildlife!!)
- My October 2009 Green Team Gazette Newsletter synopsis on "Osprey's Adventure"
- My October 31, 2010 blog post: "This Halloween: 1). Watch Out for Witches' Drawers, and 2). Don't Get Buried"
- My November 27, 2012 blog post: "The Power of Plastic in Pictures"
- Jennifer Keats Curtis' visits (and more) to Eagle Cove School in 2012, 2011, 2011--terrapin focus, 2011--Maryland Life, 2010, and 2010--books focus'
- Click here if you are in the Maryland area and would like to schedule a school visit or set up a writing workshop/residency with a phenomenal author and environmentalist: Jennifer Keats Curtis.
Osprey Nest image from my camera this April, "Osprey Adventure" pic and photo of Jennifer Keats Curtis from http://www.jenniferkeatscurtis.com/
No comments :
Post a Comment