In the Spotlight
Osprey Cruise on Lake Coeur d’Alene Wows Audience: The Coeur d’Alene Chamber Natural Resources Committee in conjunction with the BLM and the Idaho Fish and Game held their annual Osprey Cruise in Cougar Bay. The highlight of the two-hour event was viewing Dr. Wayne Melquist banding nesting chicks with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service bands. Melquist uses a pontoon boat and ladder to reach the nests in Cougar Bay on Lake Coeur d’Alene and was able to give participants a birds-eye view of the process and an osprey nest. Carrie Hugo, BLM wildlife biologist on the Coeur d’Alene Field Office, shared interesting facts and samples of osprey calls with the crowd. Dr. Wayne Melquist has been banding osprey chicks since 1972 and has also worked to reintroduce osprey from the northern Idaho area to South Dakota. About 112 participants, including many families, enjoyed the interpretive presentation and chick banding demonstration on a beautiful summer morning on Lake Coeur d’Alene. The cruise has become an annual event that typically occurs the weekend after the Fourth of July.
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