Our Osprey Garden
Greetings Osprey Friends!
Most of our ospreys have arrived! We have observed activity at 45 different nesting sites within town limits. There is lots of excitement in town as we are able to look into the sky and see and hear our magnificent birds!
They are now busy building their nests, with some nests needing lots of work but they don’t seem to mind. Approximately 30 days after arrival they will lay their eggs and approximately 35 days after that the eggs will hatch.
The platform between the Beach Shop and the bathrooms had to be taken down as there is going to be new construction there, so the logical place to put the new pole and platform was right across the way at the Fisheries Commission Building. We appreciate Martin Gary, Executive Director of the Potomac River Fisheries Commission, for agreeing to placement of the pole at his facility. We are also grateful to Dominion Energy for their assistance in getting the new pole up and providing a platform. Science tells us when moving a nest, the new nest should be placed as as close as possible to where the old one was. We are certain that the pair of birds that occupied the old nest have found their new home and are already busily adding new sticks every day!
Early Bird TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW ONLINE!!
Single- $10.00
Full Nest- $15 (family ticket)
Children 12 and under are FREE and must be accompanied by an adult.
Ticket prices increase by $5.00 on day of festival so get them now!
You can also purchase tickets in Colonial Beach at
Riverview Inn, Coldwell Banker, Hawthorn Mercantile, and Beach Paws
***Note that all events on Town Hill are FREE!***
Tickets are Required for presentations at the Fisheries Building
And for trolley and golf cart nest tours
We are only two weeks away from our festival and everything is ready to go! We have such marvelous volunteers in our community, and we want to thank them for their hard work as they are the ones that really make this festival happen!
Come and join us on April 15, 2023, for the 5th Annual Virginia Osprey Festival in Colonial Beach as we celebrate the return of our official Town Bird, The Osprey! The festival will be held from 9 am to 4 pm on Town Hill.
There are over 30 exhibits and activities for young and old alike as well as 20 vendors and a variety of food trucks. There will be presentations at the Potomac River Fisheries Commission Building throughout the day including our keynote speaker Dr. Bryan Watts, Director of the Center for Conservation Biology at the College of William and Mary. Our Trolley and Golf Cart tours will show you many of the 50 plus nests that make up our “Osprey Garden” in Colonial Beach. All events on Town Hill are open to the public. Tickets are required for the presentations at the fisheries building and for the nest tours. Come on out for a good time, Rain or Shine! We hope to see you there!
This event is Co-Hosted by Downtown Colonial Beach and Colonial Beach Greenspace
For further details please visit us at: virginiaospreyfestival.org.
Remember, 50% of festival profits go into an osprey/wildlife fund. Thank you for your support!