There are numerous bird species that benefit from human-made nesting structures, including several species that breed here in Sheridan County. Some of these birds may have difficulty finding the necessary natural resources or structures required to safely and successfully raise their young.
One of these species that is a common summertime resident at The Brinton Museum’s Quarter Circle A Ranch is the Osprey. Ospreys (sometimes called fish hawks) are a raptor species typically found near water and feed almost exclusively on fish. Ospreys have a reversible outer toe, and barbed pads on their feet that help them grab slippery fish from the water.
Ospreys typically construct large nests out of sticks in dead trees with open tops where they can easily access the nest from above. However, sometimes they can have a difficult time finding a suitable, open-topped tree in the wild. Research has shown that in areas where natural nesting structures are limited, human-made platforms can be installed and ospreys will readily use them.
The Brinton Museum in collaboration with the Bighorn Audubon Society and Montana-Dakota Utilities worked together to provide two nesting platforms for osprey on the Quarter Circle A Ranch, after a nearby cottonwood tree that supported an osprey nest fell in a wind storm.
Bighorn Audubon Society provided human-made nesting platforms that were constructed specifically for these birds. MDU provided the poles (one 30-foot tall, one 35-foot tall) and they excavated the holes and also erected the poles and platforms on the west side of Little Goose Creek.
In the summer of 2022 we were lucky enough to observe two pairs of ospreys successfully raise young on both man-made nesting platforms. The ospreys have flown south now, as they do every fall to find warmer climates where they can hunt for fish. However, we will be eagerly awaiting the arrival of the osprey pairs in early spring to begin the breeding and nesting cycle all over again. The nesting ospreys can be observed from a safe distance on our 2.5-mile nature trail that follows Little Goose Creek, typically from late March through early October.
The Brinton Museum takes great pride in providing high-quality environment for all types of wildlife. We construct nesting boxes for tree swallows, house wrens and wood ducks. We provide pollinator gardens for bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.
The Brinton Museum strives to provide a special place for not only those folks that enjoy art and history but those that appreciate the outdoors as well.
