WILDLIFE WATCHING -- A hawk-eyed reader recently noticed that the poles that had supported urban osprey nests not far from the Valley Costco store were missing -- and so were the osprey.

She contacted me, and I contacted the Washington Fish and Wildlife Department.  Habitat biologist Karin Divens provided this update:

"The site is going to be developed with a Walmart store and the platforms had to be relocated," Divens said last week.  "I contacted the City of Spokane Valley this morning and they had the developer’s consultant contact me.

"It sounds like they did their best to follow our recommendations for these replacement nesting platforms, including specs on preferred designs.  

"District wildlife biologist Howard Ferguson and I had identified three alternative locations for new poles with nesting platforms.  Unfortunately, the consultant was unable to get approval  from neighboring property owners to place permanent platforms. 

"Instead, new poles and platforms were put up on the Walmart property as far away from the highest activity areas as possible.

"The new poles and platforms were put up prior to removal of the old ones.   So now we wait and see if the birds choose to nest here when they return.  After 12 years of documented nesting, there has been no osprey nesting documented at this location for the past 2 years. "

A Canada goose apparently nested on one of the platforms last year.