Deformed osprey spawns waterfront study

Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, April 24, 2002

By Theresa Goffredo

Herald Writer

EVERETT – Wildlife biologist Chuck Henny, one of the leading osprey researchers in the country, has seen thousands of these migratory birds. But he saw something in Everett that he had never seen before: a deformed osprey.

The 4-week-old bird had a digit missing from one foot. That same foot had no claws. And the critter also had a deformed pelvis, with one leg jutting out to the rear.

After seeing the bird, Henny decided to switch gears – and locations.

Henny, who works for one of the U.S. Geological Survey research centers in Corvallis, Ore., is putting together a project that would turn osprey into an indicator species, the kind of animal whose health scientists monitor to check whether rivers and estuaries nationwide are contaminated.

But when he saw the deformed osprey, Henny decided to include Everett’s osprey population in the study. USGS is contributing $14,000 toward field research to be carried out along Everett’s shoreline, including the Snohomish River estuary and Maulsby mudflats northwest of town.

“I had not seen a deformed osprey before, and it brought my attention to Everett,” Henny said. “It’s a pretty unique population of ospreys in that area and not anything comparable to anywhere else in the Puget Sound.”

Members of the local Pilchuck Audubon Society revealed news of that study during a city council meeting Wednesday. Those members beseeched the council to protect Everett’s unique migratory bird population and restore the shoreline’s marshland.

That discussion came up during a public hearing before the council voted to approve the updated version of the city’s Shoreline Master Program.

Critics, including Audubon members, maintain that the Maulsby mudflats, the former Simpson Mill property along the Snohomish River and the Port of Everett Marina need to be designated as conservation areas.

But the updated plans allow for commercial development, such as a marina, on the mudflats, a popular hunting area for hungry osprey that eat primarily bottom-feeders, such as starry flounder.

For Ed Schulz, it seems likely the osprey in Everett’s estuary are under stress due to environmental contaminants.

Schulz, an Audubon member, began banding osprey for the first time last year to try and track them and learn more about their migrations. While he was tagging them, Schulz found the deformed osprey along Steamboat Slough. He also found several young birds dead in a nest and a number of osprey eggs that were unable to hatch.

Schulz brought his findings to Henny’s attention. Henny then decided to contract with Schulz and Bud Anderson, from the Falcon Research Group, to monitor the birds more closely and help collect osprey eggs for further analysis.

There were 26 breeding pairs of osprey last year, and Schulz remarked that Everett’s osprey population is unique in that the colony’s nests are close together.

Schulz suggests that if development is to take place along Everett’s waterfront, city leaders might consider eco-tourism based upon the richness of the estuary, including watching the osprey use their 6-foot wingspan to fly and hunt.

“The fact that this is the best place on the American West Coast to view osprey could be a key component of a sustainable tourism that does not degrade from the ecological value of the estuary and waterfront area,” Schulz wrote to the county’s Marine Resources Advisory Committee last week.

Ospreys can adapt to man’s influence and “habituate” themselves should development occur, such as increased boat traffic from a marina, Henny said.

But dealing with potential contaminants in the water is another matter.

“The birds migrate to nonindustrialized areas in the winter,” Henny said, adding the study results will be released next year. “If we find a bunch of industrial contaminants it’s pretty much from a local source.”

You can call Herald Writer Theresa Goffredo at 425-339-3097 or send e-mail to goffredo@heraldnet.com.