Port nature documentary

(In the voice of David Attenborough or Morgan Freeman, your choice.)

As the sun rises slowly through the butterfly bush, the smell of salt water, flowers and diesel permeate the Tacoma Tideflats. Straddle carriers and gantry cranes fastidiously carry the day’s commerce from ship to shore, while semi-trucks frolic across port terminals.

Amid all this hustle and bustle sit a pair of osprey. Also known as seahawks, the pair are oblivious to their surroundings as they meticulously perform upgrades to the nest—which sits atop a light pole—they’ve shared for several years. Their chatter and cries to each other can only mean one thing: love is in the air.

While their moment is brief, it lays the foundation for the next generation of seahawks to join what can only be described as a unique ecosystem. It is, however, long enough for him to need a nap afterward. (My boss suspects he is British.)

Environmental connection

Smaller than a bald eagle but bigger than a red-tailed hawk, ospreys are true “seahawks.” They feed almost exclusively on fish, can dive as deep as three feet below the water’s surface to catch prey and have up to a 70 percent success rate in catching dinner.

Osprey have high nest fidelity, which means they return year after year to the same place and continue to build upon the same nest. Some nests can reach three to six feet across and up to 13 feet deep, and nests are often made on manmade structures (such as light poles, as in this case).

The nest at the Port is located in our North Intermodal Yard (NIM). While this nest location may be consider by most to be an inhospitable place to raise young, the proximity to water and food makes it an excellent location. This pair have successfully raised chicks at the NIM for many years.

Our maintenance crew strategically schedules preventive maintenance on the light pole before the osprey return after migrating south for the winter months. The crew is extremely careful to not disturb the nest contents, thus ensuring successful osprey families for years to come.