There is a tall channel marker on the Old Bridge side of the entrance to the Cheesequake Creek inlet, about 100 yards off the beach on a rocky jetty. It is one of a pair of channel markers, the other being on the Sayreville side of the inlet. No nest was spotted at this site in July 2014, but both markers would make feasible if noisy spots for nesting ospreys.
I went in search of this nest this afternoon. A seagull was perched atop the Old Bridge channel marker. No nesting materials were spotted on either of this or the Sayreville marker. The spot was amazingly noisy, with an active draw bridge with alarm, motorboats and skidoos zipping around, ice cream vending trucks playing loud music, and hundreds of beachgoers laying out or playing in the water. The channel itself is busy with boat traffic when the bridge is up. Horns and bells signal the draw up and down. With the relative sanctuary of the state park on the other side of the highway, this doesn't seem an ideal spot for a nest. But stranger things have happened, I'm sure.
Until Hurricane Sandy took my boat for her prize in 2012, I used to pass this tower/nest weekly. From 2002 thought 2010, this was an active nest, raising new chicks every single year!
Past Seasons
Show reports, diaries, and photos from:Current 2018 2017 2016 2014 2013
Activity reports
Photos of this nest
Nesting Diaries