Bill McKay was a great fan of the osprey cam during its first season (2022), as well as a frequent commenter on the site. I got to know him a bit that summer. We shared a love of the environment, ospreys and sailing. He was a passionate champion of the Mashpee River, as well as an educator for many years in the Falmouth schools. Sadly, Bill passed away this past January.
I’ve been in touch with his wife, Maureen (“Moe”), who saw the news articles about the nest collapse and subsequent repair. She shared with me that April 2nd, the day we replaced the nest platform, would have been Bill’s 76th birthday. She suggested he must have sent the new platform down from heaven. According to Moe:
“Bill had a love of April Fool’s Day and we always dreaded what pranks he would contrive on that day. I thought it ironic that he may have sent the wind on Saturday, only to have the new platform completed on the next day.”
Last year, Bill watched the osprey cam every day. His acute observations and inquisitiveness were a testament to his storytelling ability. “It was his favorite part of the day!” Mo told me. In one of Bill’s comments from last May, he mused:
“I was just watching our osprey, sitting up there in 30 knot winds, yesterday, today and tomorrow. What can she (he) be thinking? 4 to 6 weeks of sitting there to hatch those eggs; could a human do this??? Doubt it; so here’s a shout out to the birds!!!!!!!”
Bill often wrote about the Mashpee River, where ospreys fish from the large schools of herring that run upstream each Spring.
“I can tell you a ton of things about the river… I am old, have listened carefully and read well.”
So it is with great appreciation to Bill, for his love of ospreys and his conservation efforts in Mashpee and beyond, that the Friends of Mashpee National Wildlife Refuge dedicate the new platform in his name, the “Bill McKay Memorial Osprey Nest Platform.” Our Board of Directors unanimously support making this dedication. We think the ospreys, Rachel and Carson, would also agree. Moe added:
“I hope the ospreys enjoy his gift! I am sure Bill will be watching them from his sailboat in heaven.”
Thank you for this dedication and beautiful post. I am Bill’s youngest daughter and was lucky enough to be raised on the Mashpee River with the ospreys. Bill could often be found whistling as he walked through and worked on the conservation land. He was so good in fact that he could mimic the osprey call and they would call back to him. It was delightful to watch them hunt for their fish and we were always so excited to see them succeed in their catch. Thank you for your conservation efforts. It is a blessing to all.
That was such a benevolent and thoughtful tribute in his memory.
Bill is looking down on Rachel and Carson knowing they are in good care in the nest and platform named for him. May he rest peacefully.
Such a fitting tribute to Bill McKay👍🏼.
Very Sorry to hear he’s passed .
[In my last post I meant to say that Rachel was sitting more in the ‘nest’ hole ] not the next hole ☺️