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State park friends lend a helping hand to osprey nest

If you build it, they will come ... hopefully
Dan Baker of Tri-State Tree dumps sticks and grass onto a platform that the Friends of Cape Henlopen State Park hope will attract an osprey pair this spring. BILL SHULL PHOTOS
Bill Shull
March 14, 2025

Dan Baker slowly rose 45 feet on a lift that he usually uses for trimming trees.

But, March 1, Baker, from Tri-State Tree Service, was heading for a platform that one day soon could be home to an osprey pair. The ospreys typically return to the area in March.

He donated his time and equipment to the Friends of Cape Henlopen State Park. The group had the platform relocated to a new site in 2023, but no ospreys have shown up.

This year, they had a plan: Start to build it and they will come.         

“Hopefully, they fly by and say, ‘Oh my gosh, I love this’,” said Jodi McLaughlin, a local osprey expert who came to lend a hand in building a starter nest.

She brought sticks, grass and mud for Baker to place on the platform. Think of it as a partially furnished apartment for birds.

“It is all of the things that the ospreys would generally bring to the nest,” McLaughlin said. “They will build this up so far that eventually it might be above that T-perch and it could weigh up to 400 pounds.”

She said, unfortunately, nothing they did that day will deter black vultures or even eagles from moving into the nest.

Baker installed the T-perch for the male birds to sit on. He also cleaned the lens of the camera that provides a 24/7 livestream, and he placed a protective cover around the camera.

It is one of two live cameras the Friends group has in the park. The other is near the nature center. Both livestreams are available at fochsp.org/bird-cams.

The osprey platform is managed by Cape Henlopen State Park. The livestream and camera equipment are fully funded by the Friends group through donations and fundraising.

 

Dan Baker cleans the lens of the camera that monitors the nest activity 24/7. BILL SHULL PHOTO
This is the result of Dan Baker’s work, a starter nest on top of the platform. This is a screenshot from the Friends of Cape Henlopen State Park camera March 1. Some group members are standing below. SUBMITTED PHOTO
Tri-State Tree donated time and equipment to help the Friends of Cape Henlopen State Park install a starter nest for ospreys. Shown are (l-r) Dan Baker, Tri-State Tree; Jodi McLaughlin, osprey expert; MJ Candoux, Friends board member; Suzanne Langwell, Friends media and marketing; and Polly White, Friends vice president. BILL SHULL PHOTO
Jodi McLaughlin, left, monitors the livestream while Dan Baker is working on the camera platform 45 feet in the air. BILL SHULL PHOTO
A osprey seen on a different nest in Lewes last year. That bird has started building a nest using the same material as the new starter nest. The Friends of Cape Henlopen State Park hope their platform will be home to a pair this season. BILL SHULL PHOTO

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Bill Shull has been covering Lewes for the Cape Gazette since 2023. He comes to the world of print journalism after 40 years in TV news. Bill has worked in his hometown of Philadelphia, as well as Atlanta and Washington, D.C. He came to Lewes in 2014 to help launch WRDE-TV. Bill served as WRDE’s news director for more than eight years, working in Lewes and Milton. He is a 1986 graduate of Penn State University. Bill is an avid aviation and wildlife photographer, and a big Penn State football, Phillies and PGA Tour golf fan. Bill, his wife Jill and their rescue cat, Lucky, live in Rehoboth Beach.

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