State environmental officials are seeking volunteers for an osprey monitoring project in Delaware.
The Division of Fish and Wildlife is holding orientation sessions next week for people interested in helping keep tabs on the osprey population.
Officials say osprey populations throughout the country declined sharply in the 1950s and 60s because of DDT, PCBs and other chemical contaminants. But the raptor population began to rebound after DDT and most PCB uses were banned in the 1970s.
In the early 1990s, the Delmarva Ornithological Society joined with state officials and other organizations in building and repairing osprey nesting platforms, which can be found along waterways throughout the state, especially the Inland Bays.
Officials are now seeking help in monitoring osprey nests to gather information on breeding and other activities.
For those interested in either getting to know about these unique birds or helping collect osprey nesting data, the Division of Fish & Wildlife will hold two orientations for volunteer osprey monitors:
Saturday, March 7, 1-2:30 p.m. – Nature Center at Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge, located off Route 9 east of Smyrna at 2591 Whitehall Neck Road, Smyrna.
Sunday, March 8, 1-2:30 p.m. – Field office at Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge, 11978 Turkle Pond Road, Milton.
