Bellville Osprey Nest

A couple years ago ospreys (Bernie & Sharon) decided to build a nest on the Clear Fork ball field #2 lights. Instead of just removing the nest or running the risk of burning it with lights, the Utility Department (under the direction of the naturalist from Pleasant Hill Lake Park) built a platform to move the nest to a safer place. AEP graciously installed the pole, and the Village Utility Department installed the platform and relocated the initial nest. When Bernie & Sharon (the ospreys) returned from South America last year, they took to their new home nicely and raised their offspring. Bernie & Sharon (Bellville’s osprey couple) will eventually take flight and leave the nest this fall. The parents will return sometime in March 2024 (usually on the exact day every year) to the nesting platform to add to their family. Huge shout out and thank you to everyone for such a wonderful collaborative effort that made the Bellville osprey nest live stream possible for everyong in the Valley and beyond to enjoy! We would like to thank the Belcastro Family, Trebel Energy (camera), AEP (and their dedicated and determined fix-everything crewman), Gorman Rupp Industries (for providing internet access for streaming), our terrific Utility Department Crew, and Cardinal Rental (donated equipment to bury electric line). We would also like to thank Elzy Milling & Trade (the Clark family) for sponsoring the first six months of live streaming. NOTICE: This is a wild osprey nest and anything can happen. While we hope that healthy osprey chicks will end up fledglings and leave the nest, things like sibling rivalry, predators, and natural disasters can affect the osprey family and may be difficult to watch. As hard as it may be to see anything happen to our osprey, we will let nature take its course and will not intervene. We use infrared light for nighttime viewing. Infrared is not visible to the ospreys or to humans.