April 10, 1988 DENTAL HEALTH MONTH... SuperValu head cashier Michelle Vanzella stands in front of the dental display in the supermarket at Castleaird Plaza. The display is part of Dental Health Month going on right now. CosNewsPhoto Male ospreys lazy Ron Ydenberg wants to know why male ospreys aren't better providers. By late May, the Simon Fraser University zoologist and a team of students will be climbing trees and crawling through the marshland of the Kootenays to find the answer. Late spring is when the osprey — large, free roaming raptors — return to nest in the area. The emphasis this summer will be on tracking the daily routine of the male of the species, whose ability to provide for mates and their off-spring often seems to fall short of what it could be. The result of the adult male's inadequacies on newly hatched osprey chicks is often “siblicide,” where the actions of the largest of the three chicks hatched during the season results in the death of the others because of its aggressive drive for food. Ospreys feed exclusively on fish. “The biggest chick often kills its smallest siblings, either by outright violence, or more passively, by preventing them from feeding,” explains Ydenberg. “We've found that the male is very lazy and often brings little food to the nest. Knowing what happens in the nest, it becomes a real mystery as to why he doesn't bring more.” Ydenberg says it’s possible that even though the male osprey seems to spend little time gathering food, he may be unable to collect more due to a limitation on processing it. Male birds, may also be using expensive energy flying and hovering “What we hope to do this year is get a picture of the male's time-energy budget by following him for long periods of time,” he says “That's harder than it sounds, because the field crew has to record his every move on a second-to- ‘second basis.” The study of ospreys, which is being conducted in the Creston Valley Wildlife Management area, was initiated by PhD student Scott Forbes and is in its fourth year. Among other students who've been drawn to the project is Hans Esselink, a Dutch native who has extensive training in raptor biology and climbing. It is most often Esselink who scales tall trees in search of osprey nests. It's a time-consuming and potentially dangerous task because of the risk of dead branches that could break under his weight. From nests high atop trees, or from other elevated points such as a Canadian Pacific Railway bridge at the south end of Kootenay Lake, the young birds are removed, observed, measured, weighed and banded with colored markers that will help researchers follow them through their lives. The nests, which can weigh in excess of 100 pounds, are Legion meets The Royal Canadian Leg. The next general member ion Branch No. 170's new ship meeting is 7:30 p.m. second vice-president is April 1 Rosemary Barley and the vacant executive position has beén filled by John Gibson. In other Legion news the Rossland Light Opera Play ers will stage We'll Meet Aain at Kinnaird junior sec ondary school on Friday The branch April news. letter has now been pub lished and members can IS obtain their copy from the branch 20% FASTER WEIGHT LOSS We've not only reduced the time it takes to lose weight, we've even Great Place To... .+.- BUY .+. SELL «.. TRADE Call Classifieds 365-2212 reduced the price! ATTENTION PASS CREEK RESIDENTS The Pass Creek Fire Depor- tment is now accepting @ plications for Volunteer Firetighters. FOR INFORMATION CONTACT AFTER 6 P.M Brion ot 365-2556 Tuesday, usually visited within six or seven weeks of the hatching period. Biologists have found the eggs usually hatch two or three days apart, and the female is often the largest of the long-lived birds. In previous seasons, students have examined defects in the plummage of ospreys, known as fault bars, which may be caused by diet or pollutants. Nearby communities have also lent assistance to the research project. The Nelson Fire Department and West Kootenay Power have both offered their equipment to lift students to nests that are difficult to reach. Ydenberg hopes avid local bird watchers will also play a part in providing valuable.information. Some residents enjoy the opportunity of watching ospreys nest on pilings in front of their homes during the May-August nesting period. In other instances, the SFU biologists have sometimes been scolded for disturbing the nests by residents or passerby unaware of the researchers’ intentions. Ydenberg estimates that there are about 140 nesting pairs of ospreys in the Creston and Nelson area, making it one of the largest nesting grounds in the world. Others include the east coast of the United States and near the Red Sea, where ospreys nest on the ground. “The study will be a continuing long-term effort,” says Ydenberg, “to find out not only how, but why these birds live as they do.” CASH BACK Why wait for your tax refund when you could get Cash Back fast? It you quality You,con get a cheque for 85% of the first $300 of your tax retund and 95% of the rest. Plus your tax return will be accurately prepared at no extra charge. So why wait for the retund cheque to arrive by mail? 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