All About Ospreys
February 24, 2024 (Chesapeake Beach, MD) -
All about Osprey's was a great success thanks to our volunteers and community partnerships. Over 85 guests attended the event to hear about Ospreys with Greg Kearns, Senior Naturalist from Patuxent Park. Greg Kearns discussed Osprey biology, his banding program with the public, re-introduction efforts, tracking and how this once-imperiled bird became a conservation success story and how they are doing today. It was a hands on event with activites, games and the opportunity to visit with local Naturalists to engage with their exciting wildlife displays before or after the talk.
Pictured above Greg Kearns
About about Greg Kearns: Kearns is a Senior Park Naturalist for the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (MNCPPC) at the Patuxent River Park in Prince George’s County, Md River for over 39 years. He is an expert on wetland ecology of the Chesapeake Bay, a licensed bird bander and a renowned authority on Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) and the Sora rail (Porzana carolina). During Greg’s career at Patuxent River Park, he has spearheaded an osprey nest platform and banding program that spans a good portion of the tidal Patuxent River. Greg and his interns have installed and maintained over 100 osprey nest platforms along 25 miles of river and banded over 5000 adult and juvenile Ospreys. Countless volunteers and staff from DNR and other organizations have experienced Ospreys up close in hand during the summer banding season with the program being so popular space fills up well in advance. Greg not only does the technical monitoring work but makes it accessible to the public through unique educational opportunities. Greg was named Conservationist of the Year by the Maryland Dept. of Natural Resources in 2006 for his work on Soras and restoration of the wild rice marshes at Jug Bay, Md. and was awarded the National Wetlands Conservation award in 2017 from the Environmental Law Institute.This work compliments the wetland restoration, water quality improvement the rice provides for the fish and other organisms, and the Osprey’s role in this important ecosystem.
