Richmond’s newest birds: Rivet, Whirley
When a bachelor osprey nicknamed Richmond staked out a home with a view of the East Bay shoreline, he had one goal in mind: lure a mate to his love nest and have babies.
He settled atop a historic crane in the city of Richmond, his namesake, and got to work, searching for a mate.
As soon as his calls were answered, the Golden Gate Audubon Society set up a nest cam and Bay Area residents watched the live stream and patiently waited until Richmond and his plumed partner, nicknamed Rosie, hatched two chicks mid-May.
Just three weeks after their birth and after viewers suggested hundreds of names, the little birdies officially were called Rivet and Whirley.
“Ospreys are colonizing the Bay Area right now,” said Cindy Margulis, the executive director of the Golden Gate Audubon Society. “We thought (viewers) would fall in love with the birds and that would confer obligations on us to take care of our birds and the habitat they need.”
Voters also took a page out of Richmond’s history book when it came to the names, Margulis added.
Whirley, born May 12, was named after her home, the Whirley Crane, a 75-foot high World War II maritime crane overlooking the Richmond shoreline. Rivet, born two days later on Mother’s Day, is a nod to the Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond.
“Plus the name Rivet reflects how thousands of people have become riveted to watching the nest,” Margulis said.
Whirley and Rivet’s mother arrived in Richmond in the beginning of March and was dubbed “Rosie” by Margulis after Rosie the Riveter.
Shortly before Rosie arrived, Richmond was chirping his best pickup lines at all the female osprey flying by him.
“He’s calling from that nest spot, ‘Hey baby, what do you think of my house? Is this a good place to raise kids?’ ” Margulis said. “And then she shows up and she’s like, ‘I like this spot and you seem OK.’ ”
When Rosie moved in, Richmond wined and dined her, so to speak, catching the best fish the bay could offer, Margulis said.
It worked. And history was made once again when Whirley and Rivet were born to an audience that tuned on its computers, and Margulis said.
The nest cams are still up, and the hope is that the footage of the new osprey family — that’s currently building out the nest and feeding the fledglings — will show people the importance of keeping the bay clean.
“If we want to have wildlife in our midst, we need people to understand that we need to take care of our shorelines and our waterways,” Margulis said.
To catch the live show of the bird family, log on to http://sfbayospreys. org.