community - 2026-06-10

Threatened Osprey Pair Takes Up Residence at Avalon Nesting Platform

A pair of eastern ospreys has moved into a specially designed nesting pole at Hitchcock Park, Avalon, just one week after Northern Beaches Council added branches to encourage the threatened birds to breed.

A pair of threatened eastern ospreys has moved into a purpose-built nesting platform at Hitchcock Park, Avalon, just one week after Northern Beaches Council added branches to the structure to make it more inviting — raising cautious optimism that the birds may breed there this season. The 23-metre-high nesting pole was installed by Northern Beaches Council in late 2025 as part of a targeted effort to provide safe, elevated nesting sites for the species along the coast. Council recently added branches to the top of the pole to create a basic nest structure, and within days, community members began sending in reports and photographs confirming that an osprey pair had arrived and started settling in. The eastern osprey, a piscivorous (fish-eating) raptor, is listed as a threatened species in New South Wales and is known for seeking out commanding elevated positions near coastal waterways from which to hunt. That same instinct has historically led some osprey pairs to nest in hazardous locations — including construction cranes on active development sites — making the provision of dedicated nesting infrastructure an important conservation measure. Situated at Hitchcock Park in...