IMG_1203.jpg Jan Hall, a partner at Partners Village Store, joined forces with the Mass Audubon’s Allens Pond Wildlife Sanctuary and the Westport River Watershed Alliance to sponsor Celebrate Our Ospreys. IMG_1204.jpg Gina Purtell, Director of the Allens Pond Wildlife Sanctuary, opened the meeting and shared her thoughts on the Sanctuary's involvement with the Osprey. IMG_1205.jpg The meeting, free to the public, was well attended by many interested Westport residents, who contributed their experience and questions with the audience. IMG_1208.jpg Guest speaker, Gay Gillespie, Director of the WRWA, stressed the importance of 'sentinel wildlife' that reflect the health of our environment. Environmentalist and ecologists depend upon this feedback to certify their own observations and conclusions. IMG_1210.jpg Alan Poole, author of the leading book on Osprey – Ospreys – A Natural and Unnatural History – presented and discussed the local Osprey breeding results for this exceptional year. IMG_1216.jpg Alan is a resident of Dartmouth and has guided the local Osprey monitoring for the Allens Pond Sanctuary this year. IMG_1217.jpg He provided valuable accumulated data that pointed out, among other things, that heavy rainfall can dramatically affect the ratio of eggs laid, hatched and fledged. He also pointed out that the adaptability and survival success of the Osprey has removed it's 'sentinel species status! IMG_1218.jpg David Gessner, author of The Return of the Osprey – A Season of Flight and Wonder, published in 2001, and the newly published book, Soaring with Fidel – An Osprey Odyssey from Cape Cod to Cuba and Beyond, discussed this book and autographed copies.