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https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/jun/10/osprey-cam-streams-nesting-seabirds-queensland-rainforest-canopy-crane>
"It started by chance – but it should have come as no surprise that two ospreys
would pick a hi-tech research facility to make their home.
James Cook University’s 47-metre tall crane towers over the far-north
Queensland rainforest canopy, making it the perfect nesting place for the
seabird.
Year in, year out, the birds return to nest, regardless of the spot’s
challenges.
“The crane is constantly moving,” the station manager of the university’s
Daintree Rainforest Observatory, Johan Larson, said.
The jib of the crane is 55 metres long, meaning the nest can move 110 metres
from its last position, he said.
“But they have no problems finding it.”
The canopy crane – designed to give researchers access to the rainforest from
above – is the centrepiece of the university’s Daintree Rainforest Observatory,
a field station nestled in lowland rainforest, featuring everything from a
lecture theatre to indoor and outdoor laboratories.
Just a kilometre from the coast, the nest is close enough to the ocean for the
birds to make a catch and completely safe from ground-based predators.
“I think they haven’t missed a single year for the last 15 years, so I think
they really like it,” Larson said."
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
