Baby ospreys saved from fallen tree after post-tropical storm Arthur

Three baby ospreys trapped under a fallen tree during post-tropical storm Arthur have been rescued by a Nova Scotia wildlife refuge. They're among the dozens of birds recovering at the sanctuary after the storm blew through Nova Scotia. 

"Unfortunately, it was in an old, rotten tree, and the whole top had come down. The nest was destroyed," said Hope Swinimer, founder of Hope for Wildlife.  

“The babies were pretty well buried within the nest, so it took quite a bit of digging to get the baby ospreys out.”

After the baby birds were found, they were brought back to the wildlife refuge because they were dehydrated.

Hope for Wildlife workers attempted to rebuild the nest, but failed on the first attempt. They built a second replacement nest on a lower branch of the original tree.

Adult bird drops food in new nest

That second one seems to have worked, as staff saw the mother osprey circling the new nest and dropping off food.

Sara Seemel said when she climbed up to check on the nest, she saw a flounder fish with pieces missing from it.

“They'd been fed and they were nice and sleepy and full of food,” she said.

Seemel said it's an experience she'll never forget

“It was probably the coolest thing I've done in nine years working here,” she said.

Hope For Wildlife will monitor the baby ospreys for another week.

Calls for help

Dozens of other birds are now recovering at Hope for Wildlife. Wind in some parts of the province reached up to 140 km/h, downing trees and power lines during the weekend storm.

Swinimer said they've received more than 200 phone calls about wildlife in distress.

Some animals were knocked out of their nests by the wind, while others were knocked into buildings.

Swinimer says it's not unusual for a tropical storm.

"This time of year, it's early, so there’s lots of baby birds in nests that get blown out of the nests,” she said.