SEASIDE HEIGHTS – A pair of ospreys attempted to make the pinnacle of a popular boardwalk roller coaster a nesting site to raise their future chicks.
Michael Marsh of Forked River said he spotted the pair Wednesday morning on top of the Hydrus roller coaster at Casino Pier while walking on the boardwalk.
“I just saw the osprey flying around the tower (of the rollercoaster), two of them,” he said. “They were actually mating on top of the tower.”
Marsh said he also saw twigs on the coaster where the birds attempted to start a nest.
Ospreys have made a rebound since their numbers were depleted over the last century. In 1950, about 500 pairs nested along the Jersey Shore, but by 1974 their nest numbers had fallen to about 50, according to the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.
Widespread use of pesticides, particularly DDT, was blamed for the osprey’s declining numbers. In 1974, the bird was listed as “endangered,” according to the foundation.
By 2020, their numbers had bounced back. Along New Jersey’s Atlantic coast, 540 nesting pairs were recorded, with additional pairs found along the Delaware River, northern New Jersey and the Meadowlands region, according to a report by the Conserve Wildlife Foundation and the state Division of Fish and Wildlife.
The nests can weigh up to 200 pounds and are made with sticks, grass, mud, seaweed, eelgrass and reeds, according to the state Division of Fish and Wildlife.
A spokesperson for the state Department of Environmental Protection, which oversees the division, said the department was looking into the matter of the ospreys building a nest on the Seaside Heights roller coaster.
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Maintenance staff for Casino Pier and Breakwater Beach, which own the Hydrus and surrounding pier, inspected the twigs on the roller coaster and found no eggs, said Maria Mastoris Saltzman, a spokesperson for the company.
“There weren’t that many twigs, and they were covered in the chain oil (from the roller coaster),” she said in an email. “We think that drove the osprey away, because the osprey hadn’t been up there since earlier today (Wednesday).”
Last year, two ospreys delayed the popular Keyport Fireman’s Fair when they nested on a light pole in Fireman’s Park.
Ospreys are given special protection from disturbance, because they are listed as “threatened” by the DEP. The birds remain susceptible to overfishing, entanglement from plastics and plastic pollution, wind damaging nests or harming chicks, and contaminants like mercury that are found within the coastal food chain, according to the latest report on the state’s osprey population.
Amanda Oglesby is an Ocean County native who covers Brick, Barnegat and Lacey townships as well as the environment. She has worked for the Press for more than a decade. Reach her at @OglesbyAPP, aoglesby@gannettnj.com or 732-557-5701.
