Twine Causes Significant Mortality in Nestling Ospreys

摘要

Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) over much of Montana incorporate large amounts of bailing twine in their nests and active nestlings sometimes become entangled and perish. We observed 12 occurrences of entanglement in 260 nests during three years of study. Disposing of the twine or cutting the twine into smaller pieces when removing it from hay bales could reduce or eliminate the problem.