Osprey Rescued on St. Croix

An osprey in dilapidated condition was found on St. Croix on Tuesday, Sept. 4. Gregory Emmanuel, a local man, found what he believed was a big chicken hawk in his yard close to Carlton, about a mile from the beach.

Emmanuel kept the bird overnight. He contacted the St. Croix Animal Welfare Center, which referred him to Toni Lance. He sent Lance a picture, which she recognized as an osprey, a bigger bird than a chicken hawk, which eats fish. He was concerned that the osprey might die.

“The bird had just thrown up possibly some fish parts, so the bird was obviously sick and looked weak to him. He was able to go over and put a pillowcase over it, pick it up and put it in his empty chicken coop.” “If Mr. Emmanuel had not picked up the bird, he could have been hit by a car. He could have been eaten by dogs, some bad person might have grabbed him and stuffed him in a cage for the rest of his life, so it was very wonderful that this guy was brave enough to pick up this beautiful bird then call for help,” she continued.

“I happen to have had two other Osprey, they had the exact same thing happen. They had thrown up fish and were neurologically a little mixed up. Maybe the throwing up experience was enough to traumatize his body or maybe there’s a mild amount of toxin. They can get botulism and they do eat rotten fish sometimes, so I assume that’s what it is for him,” Lance said.