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Ospreys are large brown and white hawk-like birds with a six-foot wing span. They can be seen on all the islands of the Seashore including Petit Bois, Horn, East Ship, West Ship and Cat. They build large nests made up of sticks and branches in the tops of trees and snags. The adult birds hurriedly abandon their nests when people approach. Without the parents to shade the nest, the osprey eggs and chicks quickly die when exposed to the hot summer sun. On the average 65 nests are active each year on Horn Island. Over the last three years very few if any chicks have survived to leave the nest. The Seashore is increasing the informational posting of bird nesting sites and asks that visitors be alert for “Area Closed” signs and avoid these areas to help improve osprey nesting success. The signs will be removed when the baby osprey chicks leave their nest and are ready to live on their own, usually by August 1. Visitors may also encounter unmarked nesting sites. If you notice adult osprey flying up when you approach an area, it may be an unmarked nest. Please exit the area using the same route you came. Almost 280 species of birds have been observed. Sandpipers feed along the beaches and rest on the sand flats, while herons and egrets feed in ponds and lagoons. Several species of rails live in the marshes. Marsh hens whose call sounds like laughter are endemic to the salt marshes. Terns and gulls feed and rest on the water and beaches. Black skimmers literally skim the water's surface for food. The magnificent frigatebird is a common sight as it soars over the islands, especially in stormy weather.
For more information on birds in the south east link to birds.southeast.fws.gov. |
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Last Updated: 8/22/05
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Horn
and Petit Bois Islands are important nesting areas for large colonies
of least terns, sandwich terns, black skimmers, and royal terns. Additional
species of birds including gull-billed and Caspian terns, as well as numerous
shorebirds, also nest on these islands. At least fourteen species of waterfowl
utilize these areas as over-wintering grounds, the most numerous being
coot and scaup. Ospreys nest on Horn, Petit Bois and East Ship Islands
in the slash pine habitats. Southern bald eagles were reintroduced on
Horn Island beginning in 1985. Eagles now nest again on Horn Island. There
are varying estimates of the active nesting population size, but it is
apparent that the birds nesting on the offshore islands constitute a substantial
proportion of the entire reproducing coastal population from Texas to
northern Florida. 
