A pair of ospreys built their nest at the top of this crane at the end of Pier 80 in San Francisco. Photo: Sarah Rice, Special To The Chronicle
The birds were first spotted six weeks ago by Noreen Weeden, conservation manager at the Golden Gate Audubon Society, when she was at the adjacent Pier 94 working on a wetland clean-up project.
She immediately called the Port of San Francisco to inform the city of the boarders in one of the few operational container cranes along the waterfront, a bulk terminal used by, among other clients, the Oracle racing team preparing for the America’s Cup.
Port staff shut down the crane.
“We wanted to allow the birds to nest, so we held off the work schedule,” said David Beaupre, senior waterfront planner at the port. “It wasn’t interfering with the cargo business, and we wanted to make everyone happy.”
