MBS Ospreys Soar into the Future

A full-grown osprey has a wing span of up to 6 feet, but only weighs about 4 pounds!  I never knew how interesting these raptors were!  This fall Malletts Bay students chose the osprey as our new school mascot.  So, today Steve Costello from CVPS presented a slide show about Vermont’s osprey to MBS students.  It was fascinating, and we learned so much about the osprey!

Did you know that in the 1960’s osprey were nearly extinct in Vermont?  One reason they came back is because of a woman named Meeri Zetterstrom. Meeri noticed a pair of osprey at Lake Arrowhead in 1988 and worked tirelessly to help them nest and breed.   Steve documented Meeri’s story in his book Meeri Meets the Ospreys: A True Vermont Story of Love and Dedication.

Baby osprey facts captivated many students.  We learned that a baby osprey’s eyes are orange or brown and the adults have yellow eyes. You can tell a baby osprey because the tips of their feathers are white. Baby osprey grow fast . . . they’re born weighing 2 oz. and grow to 4 pounds in 12 short weeks!

We enjoyed the assembly so much we went right back to class and recorded our reactions. Listen to what we thought minutes after the assembly was over.  We learned a lot about the osprey!  Students can visit CVPS’s Osprey website to learn more about this unique bird.

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