Deadly Junk

Interesting and typical osprey nest, yes?
Sadly, there is a story behind it.

This is one of my favorite and dependable osprey nests, on the Columbia River in Portland.

Ospreys find all kinds of irresponsibly-cast-off junk to add to their nests, and some is deadly.

Last year, this pair filled their nest with cast-off fishing line. Their two 2-month-old chicks both got caught in it, toppled out of the nest (probably in their attempts to free themselves of the line), and were found hanging upside down, dead, still entangled in the line. The parents, understandably, were distraught, and it was heartrending to watch.

While I rarely intervene with "nature", this time I called the Fish and Wildlife people who agreed that having the chicks slowly decomposing in the nest would likely cause the parents to abandon the nest permanently. They compassionately removed the chicks, and the parents continued to use the nest.

Although this year's nest was also filled with human junk like the thin red rope and the algae-covered thick yellow rope, the chicks seem healthy and more likely to survive.

When will we stop killing our planet and it's creatures - for whom I believe we all are stewards?

D300
500mm + TC 1.7
1/160 sec, f/6.7
Mode: Av
Metering: Multi-segment
ISO: 500
AF mode: AF-C
White balance: AUTO
Flash: Off
Cropped to show chicks and nest, not for esthetics!