UC San Diego installs webcam on Scripps Pier so public can watch nesting ospreys
This is the time of year when the large birds of prey breed.
UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography has installed a live webcam on the Scripps Pier in La Jolla to let the public watch the nesting habits of ospreys.
This is the time of year that the birds of prey breed in Southern California. Ospreys are widely known for the way they dive into the ocean to catch fish.
A local doctoral student has turned his penchant for pelican watching into a mathematical model of energy use that has possibilities beyond the waves.
According to allaboutbirds.org, “ospreys are excellent anglers. Over several studies, ospreys caught fish on at least one in every four dives, with success rates sometimes as high as 70 percent. The average time they spent hunting before making a catch was about 12 minutes.”
A custom nesting platform was installed on the Scripps Pier in December 2018 to give the birds a safe place to nest.
To watch the live webcam feed, go to scripps.ucsd.edu/piercam.
— La Jolla Light staff contributed to this report. ◆
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