"Hacking" Defined

The reintroduction technique, called "hacking," includes collecting chicks from the wild at five to six weeks old and placing them in "hack boxes" until they are ready to fly. DNR staff will feed the birds released from the hack sites while they learn to fly and catch fish on their own. Male ospreys generally return to nest at the site at which they learned to fly. Females will follow males to their nesting grounds. Ospreys usually do not nest until they are three years old. They will migrate to South America in the fall and may not be seen again at hacking sites until they are ready to nest.