It’s a new year and another chance for wildlife watchers to follow Severna Park’s nesting pair of ospreys. For the third year, Comcast Business has partnered with apprentice raptor rehabilitators Mark and Heather Jeweler and HDOnTap – who donated all the camera, solar and battery equipment – to provide the Internet connectivity for the live broadcast. The live video feed of the nest from a Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE)—constructed platform outside Severna Park High School is available at http://www.severnaparkospreys.com.
When construction began at the Severna Park High School in 2014, the birds lost their home on a light pole that was removed. When the ospreys returned in spring 2015 to find their nest gone, they tried building a new one atop one of the construction cranes, and ultimately settled on a nearby live utility pole. Mark and Heather, a local couple who had admired the nesting pair for years, reached out to form a partnership with BGE, Comcast, and HDOnTap to erect the dedicated osprey stand to allow the ospreys a long-term nesting location, and to provide a live stream from it.
“We are preparing to open our own rehabilitation center to rescue, rehabilitate, and release injured, sick, or orphaned birds of prey,” said Heather Jeweler. “With Mark’s technical expertise, and the support of our incredible partners, providing this safe nesting place, and the live stream as an outreach to the community allows us to share our love for these amazing birds with everyone.”
Unique among North American raptors for their diet of live fish and ability to dive into the water to catch them, ospreys happily build large stick-and-sod nests on telephone poles, channel markers, and other locations nearby ponds, rivers, lakes and coastal waterways.
“Comcast Business is proud to again partner with the Jewelers to provide fast, reliable and secure Internet that will enable nature enthusiasts throughout the Severna Park area to tune into the live osprey video stream,” said Mary McLaughlin, Senior Vice President of Comcast’s Beltway Region.
“We are excited for the 2018 Severna Park Osprey season. This is one of our most popular nest cameras,” says HDOnTap Marketing Director Tassia Bezdeka. “Since 2016, viewers have enjoyed over 1 million hours of 24-7, live HD video and audio from the nest, as well as daily time-lapse clips on screens worldwide.”
“Maryland Raptor Rescue is thrilled to partner with Comcast and other local businesses, as well as video streaming experts HDOnTap, on this and other live raptor streaming projects,” said Mark Jeweler, President and CEO of Maryland Raptor Rescue, “which have included the Chesapeake Osprey Nest and the Osprey Nest at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge.”