Information Provided by the Owl Research Institute
When baling twine is left in a field or pasture Osprey are likely to pick it up and use it as nesting material. This can have devastating consequences for the birds. Adult Osprey tangled in baling twine can become trapped in their nest and unable to fly (or stuck dangling from the nest), or can slowly lose toes—or a leg—due to cut-off circulation. When chicks get entangled they are less able to move around in the nest, which means they are less able to get to food their parents bring back and can slowly be outcompeted by their siblings and starve. If baling twine gets wrapped tight around a leg or wing chicks can lose limbs or toes, which means they won’t be able to hunt and will slowly starve.
You can help by cleaning up baling twine on your property, or when you come across it laying around. Store loose twine in closed plastic containers or inside buildings, out of the reach of birds of prey until you can dispose of it. Not only does recycling or proper disposal of baling twine help Osprey and other wildlife, it also benefits ranchers, farmers, and others who have livestock or horses. Baling twine typically ends up in a landfill, piles up on a landowner’s property (where it can gum up machinery or be eaten by livestock and cattle, causing serious digestive issues or death), or is burned (which is unsafe, due to the toxic fumes emitted).
Keeping the areas around our streams, rivers, and lakes clean and free of human trash and waste helps not only Osprey and the fish they rely on, but all the other wildlife that depend on these habitats. Plus, more pristine landscapes are much nicer for human recreation and sustainability!
Use the following hyperlink to access additional information about Osprey: https://issuu.com/northwesternenergy/docs/osprey_book_pages_issuu