Osprey Y8 admitted
The story of Y8 and Osprey reintroduction in Iowa
SOAR was involved in the Osprey reintroduction project from 2006-2016. Not only did SOAR help with hacking young Ospreys at hack towers near to SOAR, but also provided rehab to a few of the relocated Osprey during these efforts, plus other Osprey found in need of care since.
On 21 April 2025, Iowa Bird Rehabilitation (IBR) was notified of an Osprey sitting in the middle of a busy road on the southwest side of Des Moines. IBR sent one of their experienced raptor rescuers to the location. The rescue location was near a known Osprey nest in a cell phone tower AND this Osprey happened to be banded. Learn more about why birds are banded. The IBR volunteer met up with SOAR executive director, Kay Neumann, that day to get this bird into care.
IBR submitted a bird band encounter report for this Osprey. Plus, SOAR looked at the Osprey reintroduction efforts that included band numbers and location of where hacked. This Osprey known to us as “Y8” was hacked in 2006 from a hack tower at Elk Rock State Park on the southern side of Lake Red Rock. 2006! We all did the math and realized this female Osprey would soon be 19 years old.
When a band encounter is submitted, not only does the reporting party get information, but the band permit holder also receives notification that a bird they banded was encountered. That banding permit is held by the Iowa Raptor Project (in 1997 was the Macbride Raptor Project). Dave Conrads, Iowa Raptor Project director received a report on Y8. Then he did a longevity search of Osprey band encounters and noted that Y8 is the oldest band-encountered Osprey west of Virginia and the 6th oldest ever!
Below you can see the USGS band and the purple project band (BX) that all hacked Osprey received.
Upon return to SOAR, Y8 was examined and Neumann noted she had bruising to both legs, dried blood in her nares, concussion symptoms, but could not feel any fractured bones. She is recovering and enjoying meals of bluegill.
More about Y8
In 2013, folks told us they saw Y8 with an Iowa-hatched male (the bird was wearing a green band). In 2014, we have pictures of her with another bird that could also have been hacked from the Lake Red Rock Tower, we just can’t confirm his Iowa band letters (purple band). After looking at several pictures, we’re fairly sure the project band is a faded purple band CN. That Osprey was hacked from the tower at Don Williams Park near Boone, IA in 2006.
Below are photos of Y8 in her cell phone tower nest.
Listen to this radio blurb from KHOI radio with Pat Schlarbaum and Marla Mertz.
More about Osprey Reintroduction in Iowa
Ospreys once nested and lived in Iowa, but no nests were recorded since the state was settled by Europeans. That is, not until a reintroduction of Osprey was begun by the Iowa Raptor Project and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources in 1997.
Why reintroduce Osprey? With construction of lakes and reservoirs by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR), county conservation boards, private industry, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, potential Osprey habitat exists today that was previously not available. In addition, Ospreys as a species have not been good at expanding their range, nor have young Ospreys moved into new territories. Avian biologists and several state natural resources biologists have noted that the Osprey may experience suppressed reproduction as density of nesting pairs increase. To address this issue, young Ospreys from Minnesota and Wisconsin have been relocated to areas with suitable habitat in other areas of the Midwest. Wildlife populations evenly distributed across suitable habitat will be able to withstand pockets with high contaminants that stress those populations. As a biological indicator species, raptors reflect the health of our environment.
Three things about Osprey biology help make reintroduction possible: Osprey can learn to fish without their parents, Osprey can migrate on their own without parents, and once mature, males typically return to where they were raised to build a nest and raise their young. For the reintroduction project, the Iowa DNR helped to obtain young Ospreys and work with local conservation agencies and volunteers to place the young birds in hack towers, feed and monitor them, in hope they will expand their range into Iowa. On the downside, only a small percentage of young Ospreys survive to even one year of age making it critical that enough young Ospreys are translocated (hacked here in Iowa) to have enough survivors that live long enough to nest!
Through late August and September, young Ospreys will explore further and further from their release site to begin their migration journey of up to 4,000 miles away to Central and South America. Immature Osprey spend up to 18 months in these areas before returning to North America to breed. Breeding age may begin at the age of 3. Adult Ospreys usually begin their migration journey in October and November.
Iowa reintroduction hack sites from 1997 to 2016 included Macbride Nature Recreation Area (University of Iowa), Saylorville Reservoir, Don Williams Lake (Boone County), Hartman Reserve Nature Center (Black Hawk County), Lake Red Rock, Clear Lake, Spirit Lake, Whiterock Conservancy near Coon Rapids, Dubuque County, Warren County, Linn County, and Carroll County.
Those groups involved with Osprey reintroduction in Iowa, worked with both MN and WI DNR, but also with the power companies in areas of high Osprey population. Why power companies? Ospreys choose a nest site that has a high, commanding view of the surrounding area – they want to be above the tree canopy and near a lake and / or rivers to hunt for their fish. In many places in northern MN and WI, those distribution line towers were the tallest structure for miles. The power companies / DNR staff would do aerial surveys of Osprey nests to identify which nests had two or more chicks. Those nests would be possibilities for borrowing one or two chicks to be relocated. At this time, an estimated age of the young was noted.
The best time to retrieve young Osprey was while they were still not able to fly – no one wanted a premature and accidental fledging of any of the young. This was usually in mid-July. Power company lineman would climb the pole, bringing with them a carry tote that could be lowered to others on the ground. Once on the ground, DNR and SOAR staff / volunteers, Mark Martell with Minnesota Audubon (at that time) would do a health check and band the young Ospreys with both a silver USGS band and a state, colored, project band.
Did the Osprey Return to Lake Red Rock?
Osprey need clean water, as all of us do, but their fishing strategies for sustaining an exclusive diet of fish is greatly hindered when turbidity becomes an issue. While Ospreys were hacked at Lake Red Rock, in hopes that they would return to nest and fish in the reservoir. No Osprey has returned to nest on Lake Red Rock; they have found other, better areas to fish. Lake Red Rock may just be too turbid for the success needed for a fish-eating raptor and off-spring to survive? Ospreys are seen at Robert’s Creek during migration and these birds can be seen fishing in the quieter, shallower bays of Lake Red Rock and at Robert’s Creek Park.