Typically you go to the ball park to watch a game, eat a hot dog and possibly catch a fly ball. If you attend a game at Sandpoint’s Memorial Field, you may catch more than that. Perched 90 feet above the action, osprey have the best seat in the house. Resting atop Sandpoint’s Memorial Field's light poles, two nesting platforms are home to these unique birds of prey. Bestowing an unsurpassed charm to an already charming community, the attraction entices bird lovers and nature enthusiasts alike to visit the field in hopes of witnessing one of these impressive sea hawks swoop down to snag a fish out of Lake Pend Oreille.
Bordering Sandpoint’s southern and eastern rims, Lake Pend Oreille serves as an ideal fishing ground for the majestic osprey. The unique geography and positioning of the nesting platforms make for a preferred habitat and provide a great vantage point for onlookers.
In collaboration with the City of Sandpoint, Keokee Publishing, Northland Communications and Avista, our feathered friends have called the field’s nesting platforms home since 2011. It was truly a community partnership that made the nesting platforms and the attached webcam possible.
The webcam provides a real-time, live video feed. Providing hours of entertainment for online viewers, these birds are here to stay (at least until they migrate to Central and South America for the winter). So the next time you’re in Sandpoint or just surfing the web, check in on the local osprey.