FORMA

Curious what construction’s like up here in Washington State? Here’s a story about a recent FORMA project that couldn’t be more PNW if it grew its own hops. 

Today we mix a 100-foot Douglas Fir, an expert arborist, a visionary parks department, and a Raptor Biologist (yes really), with FORMA’s clever and adaptable JOC personnel to bring you the story (and video!) of a meticulously hand-built osprey nest, high above a park in Renton.  

As the Job Order Contractor for King County Parks, FORMA was called in when it became apparent that a 600lb osprey nest was at risk of compromising one of the field light poles it had been built on — a dicey situation for the osprey family as well as the baseball players and crackerjack-eaters far below. With the ospreys away in sunny South America until mid April, FORMA worked quickly to put together the right team to build a new nest in a nearby, but more appropriate location – an expertly topped and prepped douglas fir. 

No word yet on whether the tanned and rested birds have found and occupied their new digs now that they’re surely back in the 425, but we feel confident that they will have been stoked to move in, given the level of precision and care that went into its construction.

Intrigued? Check out this video put together by our expert arborist, Seattle Tree Care, that documents the process and features a few notable osprey fun facts (why are they “…so freaking amazing at grappling fish”?), some valuable words to live by (“you can cut a rope shorter, but you can’t cut it longer”), a few impactful swears, and creative logistics, as well as delicate stick and mulch placement as we carefully create habitat so that animals “can do all their cool animal activities…”

Stay tuned – tomorrow it might be burrows for olympic marmots!