Osprey Platforms
As one can infer from looking at the Alabama Coastal Foundation logo, we appreciate and help promote the osprey species. Since our inception, ACF has successfully worked with our partners to organize and install over 35 osprey nesting platforms throughout coastal Alabama. Osprey platforms are aptly named - they provide platformed nesting locations for ospreys in areas where their natural habitat is otherwise at risk.
For information on our most recent installations, please click here to read an announcement by the Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) Trustee Council that was made on January 16, 2018. As you can see, those five platforms (shown below) were made possible through Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources NRDA funding. Project partners include the Baldwin County EMC, Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge, the City of Gulf Shores, Gulf State Park, the Town of Dauphin Island and the Dauphin Island Park and Beach Board.
Delta Port Marina (West Fowl River)
Penalver Park (Dauphin Island)
Bon Secour National
Wildlife Refuge (Bon Secour River)
Mo's Landing
(Little Lagoon in Gulf Shores)
Gulf State Park
(Lake Shelby in Orange Beach)
In partnership with The Nature Conservancy and the City of Orange Beach, the Alabama Coastal Foundation has worked to install an Osprey Camera. This camera is placed discreetly near an osprey platform that has attracted permanent nesting birds. In this manner scientists and the public alike may observe the birds, their behaviors, and their habits at any time.
A naming contest was held in March, 2013 to decide the names of the ospreys through a democratic voting system on social media platforms. The osprey pair was named based on popular opinion, submitted through 'like' votes on social media. In the end, the winning names are Allie (female) and Bama (male)!
Right : Bama (male)
Above : Allie (female)
The female osprey is identified by the excess feathers and coloring around her neck. This feature is called her "necklace".
