THE first osprey nest on the South Coast in almost 200 years has been found 50 metres up a communications tower in Ulladulla.
The only other osprey nest ever recorded on the South Coast was at St Georges Basin in 1810 according to Mike Jarman from the National Parks and Wildlife Service.
The Ulladulla nest is located 50 metres up a communications tower owned by Shoalhaven City Council just off Slaughterhouse Road.
It affords spectacular views of the local area - just perfect for the osprey, according to Mr Jarman.
"You wouldn't get too many trees that could replicate that," he said.
Unfortunately it appears the nest won't be used this season. A contractor who scaled the tower on Monday morning to photograph the nest reported it to be empty with no evidence of it having being used to date.
Mr Jarman believes it is now unlikely the ospreys will lay eggs this year given that they start nesting in May or June - although they may return to the tower next year.
The osprey is a fish-eating bird of prey with a wing-span reaching 1.8 metres.
It is known to tolerate a wide variety of habitats and to nest in any location near a body of water.
Mr Jarman said the there were only 110 breeding pairs of ospreys in New South Wales - most of them in the state's north where they have also been known to nest in communications towers.
Ospreys have been recorded at Lake Tabourie and Lake Conjola - but never on a nest.
The Ulladulla nest is quite large and measures two metres in width and one metre in depth.
Mr Jarman told the Times it would have to be moved because it presents a fire hazard - particularly if the tower is struck by lightening.
The nest is also blocking the hatch at the top of the tower and osprey droppings are known to be "quite corrosive".
Mr Jarman said similar nests on towers in the state's north had been relocated and the same would probably be done here in Ulladulla.
He said NPWS might seek funding to have the next placed in a steel basket and placed towards the side of the tower where it doesn't pose such a threat to existing infrastructure.
Mr Jarman said the ospreys that had constructed the Ulladulla nest may have been reared on a similar tower in the state's north before travelling south.
He said ospreys were extremely 'loyal' to their nests and had been known to use the same nest for as long as 15 years
A resident yesterday contacted the Times to say ospreys were circling the nest and that he and his wife could hear the cries of osprey hatchlings.
Mr Jarman said the adult ospreys would remain protective of their nest even without young and that residents might be mistaking their 'squeaking' call for the cries of hatchlings.
He also said the birds would be making regular trips to the nest with fish if it was occupied - something which didn't happen when he was observing the nest on Monday morning.
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