Ospreys get a home renovation

By Dana Kampa
| 5:00 a.m. December 18, 2025

Osprey play an important role in local ecosystems, and they seek out high perches on either designated nesting perches or, as in this case, power poles.

Longboat Key
Neighbors

Hurricane Milton caused infrastructure damage far and wide across the keys, and City Island was no exception.

One of the latest repairs the city of Sarasota completed was straightening out a popular osprey perch that was left standing at a roughly 80-degree lean from the ground after being pushed by forceful gales.

Crews straightened out the 60-foot wooden pole last week.

Ospreys prefer to perch high near the water's edge, and the stand at the edge of Ken Thompson Park provides an ideal view of Sarasota Bay below.

Further updates on the city's restorative works are available at SarasotaFL.gov/RestoringSarasota.

author

Dana Kampa

Dana Kampa is the Longboat Key neighbors reporter for the Observer. She first ventured into journalism in her home state of Wisconsin, going on to report community stories everywhere from the snowy mountains of Washington State to the sunny shores of the Caribbean. She has been a writer and photographer for more than a decade, covering what matters most to readers.