Every young couple needs a helping hand to build their first home. 

With this in mind, we recently added some branches to provide a basic nest structure on top the 23-metre-high osprey nesting pole we installed in late 2025 to entice new homeowners.

So, we were delighted to receive reports and photos from the community confirming an osprey pair had indeed decided to start making themselves at home, just a week after branches were installed.

While it’s still early in the breeding season, we are hopeful that these threatened ospreys will hang around to lay eggs and raise their chicks.

The eastern osprey, a piscivorous (fish eating) species, is renowned for seeking out elevated nesting sites along coastal environments, with a preference for commanding views of their fishing grounds. This behaviour has caused some osprey pairs to establish nests in unsafe locations such as construction cranes on development sites.

Located at Hitchcock Park, Avalon, the elevated nesting platform provides the ideal vantage point for ospreys to safely breed and raise their young, high above the tree-tops and away from human disturbance.

The eastern osprey has deep brown upper plumage, pale feathers on its head and underwings, and a distinctive black line running from its throat through the eye to a dark patch around the ear.

The larger female incubates 2 to 3 white eggs with brown blotches for about 40 days. Young ospreys stay with their mother until they leave the nest at around 9 weeks.

To help monitor success of the project, Community members are encouraged to share observations of any birds at the nest by emailing biodiversity@northernbeaches.nsw.gov.au

Find out more about the project