With affordable real estate on the Beaches as rare as hen’s teeth, a new elevated home with million-dollar views is up for grabs rent-free for new residents. The catch being that the structure is a 23 metres high pole designed for a rare bird of prey species!
Residents near Hitchcock Park in Avalon were treated to the installation of the pole and nesting basket platform this week. It’s hoped that the giant home above the tree-tops will entice a pair of Eastern Ospreys to settle in and call home.
This piscivorous species loves to have a high birds-eye view of its fishing grounds and will generally seek to build nests in the upper reaches of large established trees in coastal environments; it’s why they love the Northern Beaches so much.
But this wily bird’s eye for penthouse real estate means that they have increasingly been choosing man-made alternatives to nest in, such as sports field lights and mobile phone towers. Last year, one broody pair even constructed an impressive stick nest on a crane high above the construction site of a local Pittwater celebrity’s new home.
It’s behaviour that’s no good for anyone, least of all the birds, particularly when cranes need to be dismantled at the end of construction.
A safer solution has come in the form of artificial nesting platforms that mimic the ideal nesting habitats usually chosen by ospreys. Towers have successfully been installed – and occupied – at multiple breeding sites in northern NSW, South-east Queensland and South Australia. Northern Beaches Council is one of Sydney's first to build an artificial osprey nest in an urban environment.
Council has a long-standing commitment to support threatened species across the Beaches. The osprey platform at Avalon has been years in the planning with consultation showing that the local community is highly supportive of its purpose and location.
The pole has been installed in a cleared area behind the Careel Bay sports fields to avoid disruption to park users. It’s hoped that the platform will provide a safe and secure place for ospreys to raise their young in time for the next breeding season. Shortly after the tower was installed an osprey was spotted eyeing up the platform.
The platform has been funded thanks to generous support from the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment & Water and Council.
For more information about the nesting platform project, visit our website.