Three baby osprey chicks are being hand raised by Gus Ben David in Edgartown following an accident aloft over Chappaquiddick last Thursday. The birds, which are about two weeks old, fell from their nest when the electrical pole that held them and their nest caught fire. Suddenly homeless, the three little birds were rescued by NStar crews and turned over to Mr. Ben David, a noted naturalist and owner of the World of Reptiles and Bird Park off the Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road.

The osprey, once a seriously threatened Vineyard bird, has made a significant recovery. The osprey population on the Vineyard has doubled and doubled again in recent years. The recovery comes from a well proven nesting pole program developed by Gus Ben David, director of Massachusetts Audubon’s Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary.