Date: 8/4/26 4:01 pm From: Tim Lewis (via carolinabirds Mailing List) <carolinabirds...> Subject: Re: Osprey Nesting in Mountains
Thanks for the good information. Although they are uncommon in the mountains we do get eBird reports but many I hear about are not recorded except maybe as a social media post with no real info. As Guy noted, most reports tell us little. It might be helpful if there was a NestWatch-like project for other marginal birds likely to be effected by climate. Uncommon mountain birds like osprey, bald eagle and Am kestrel come to mind. In the mean time, documenting nesting data would be helpful.
Tim Lewis
Jackson Co NC
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From: <carolinabirds-request...> <carolinabirds-request...> on behalf of Harry LeGrand <carolinabirds...>
Sent: Friday, July 31, 2026 12:06 PM
To: <badgerboy...> <badgerboy...>
Cc: <carolinabirds...> <carolinabirds...>
Subject: Re: Osprey Nesting in Mountains
Please check the Birds of North Carolina website, which is hosted by the Carolina Bird Club.
Harry LeGrand
author/editor of the Birds of North Carolina website
Tim and all, this is a great question. I was curious about it myself as there has been a request to install Osprey nesting platforms in the mountains of NW NC. Although the NC Bird Atlas data, which is publicly available on the web, shows several confirmed nesting reports in the mountains, it appears that most of them are probably incorrect, with pictures showing what appear to be squirrels nests with Ospreys near them, reports of Osprey carrying food, with no further comments, which obviously Ospreys do every time they catch a fish whether or not they are nesting in the area, and other sorts of behaviors unlikely indicative of true nesting.
However, there was one place, Lake Santeetla near Robbinsville at about 2000 feet elevation, that had several reports from 2021 thru 2025 of Ospreys on nest in April, and one report with a good description but unfortunately no photo, of Ospreys on the nest with nestlings in June. See ebird checklist here<https://ebird.org/atlasnc/checklist/S90708315>. Coincidentally, the Virginia Breeding Bird Atlas 2 which finished up earlier this decade, also had what I consider likely correct reports from Claytor Lake near Blacksburg at 2000 feet elevation, with pictures, of Ospreys nesting.
So Yes, probably, if you consider 2000' elevation lakes to be "Mountains".
Guy (McGrane, Boone NC)
On 7/31/2026 10:10 AM, Tim Lewis (via carolinabirds Mailing List) wrote:
Hello everyone,
Are there records of Osprey nesting in the mountains. Where/when and are there photos?
