[June 12, 2011] Maurice River Township man streams video of growing baby ospreys on his website Tweet Jun 11, 2011 (The Press of Atlantic City - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Hugh Richards has been zooming in a lot lately. By the end of the summer, he'll be zooming out, capturing the day-by-day, minute-by-minute growth of three developing osprey. "I've been spending a lot of time at my desk lately," Richards said. Richards, a longtime Avalon resident, moved to Maurice River Township, Cumberland County about five years ago. The area is filled with wildlife, including ospreys, which feed on the river's fish. A nesting site was located on Richards' land. So Richards, who owns an audio-visual technology company, mounted cameras next to the nest, with those cameras providing video feeds to his computer. The female laid three eggs in April. The first egg hatched June 4, with the other babies following a few days later. Richards' cameras have captured every moment. The video, available at terrapincove.org/main.html, shows the chicks' feedings, naps ... well, they're not doing too much more at this point. The parents are providing hourly feedings, with the male catching fish and the female feeding the young. "The smallest one has trouble competing for food," Richards said. "Hopefully it'll catch up." The osprey intrigues Richards. The species was decimated by the chemical DDT in the 1960s and early 1970s, with only 50 nests statewide, according to Citizens United to Protect the Maurice River and Its Tributaries, Inc., a group which undertakes environmental causes along the Maurice River. Now, due to human-built nesting platforms and other initiatives, New Jersey has about 400 nests. One of those nests is being monitored by Richards' cameras. "People are into the comeback story of the osprey," Richards said. "It's a big, exciting bird." For now, the birds captured with Richards' cameras are chicks, sleepy and featherless. But they're growing each day, giving him reasons to slowly zoom out. Contact Dan Good: 609-272-7203 [email protected] To see more of The Press of Atlantic City, go to http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/. Copyright (c) 2011, The Press of Atlantic City, Pleasantville, N.J. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]