Redland City Council is calling on the community to watch for people harassing local wildlife after a resident witnessed a family of Ospreys being buzzed by an aerial drone at Wellington Point recently.

Wellington Point resident Paul Harper lives near the Osprey nest which sits upon a Council built specially designed pole and said he was concerned to see the adult birds leave the nest and their chick when the drone was hovering over their nest.

“It certainly caused some concern for them, the adults just kept circling the nest and didn’t come back for some time,” he said.

Mr Harper said he wasn’t sure if the person meant to disturb the birds or was just trying to get vision of the nesting Ospreys, which have become somewhat of an attraction for residents in the area since Council installed the nesting pole in April.

“I’m not sure if they meant to harass the birds, but anyone would know that flying a drone around the nest would cause them distress, so the person who did it is either arrogant or ignorant about wildlife.”

Division 1 Councillor Wendy Boglary called on the community to contact Council if they saw a similar act.

“I really hope this was a matter of ignorance rather than malice, but either way people need to know that flying drones around birds is not on and can actually result in legal action being taken under the Nature Conservation Act 1992 if the Ospreys are harmed,” she said.

“This nest and the lovely family of Ospreys have become well known around the local area, so we want to make sure the Ospreys aren’t harmed or scared off because a few people are being irresponsible.”

Mayor Karen Williams extended the advice by asking the community to keep an eye out for the wellbeing of all animals across the city.

“The Redlands is known for its environmental character and our wildlife is a big part of that so all residents should keep an eye out and report any harassment or abuse of animals to either Council or the RSPCA,” she said.

Anyone with any information is encouraged to call Council on 3829 8999.

Note: Council erected the specially designed Osprey Pole in April to provide a home for the birds.  Minutes after the pole was erected a family of Ospreys inhabited the nest, a video of the family can be found here.

Photography note: Thank you to photographer Garry Watterson, of Elevated Photos, for the use of these images. They are taken from a 26m mobile tower located well away  from the osprey pole, not from a drone.