Wender·Vista
Osprey on Long Island bay nest
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileNew York
above the bays of Long Island's South Shore

Osprey on Long Island bay nest

— — a bird that came back when the water did.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“A pair of osprey on a platform nest above a Long Island bay — a channel marker, a utility pole, a wooden cross built for them by a town conservation board. The species nearly disappeared from these bays in the 1970s, when DDT thinned their eggshells past surviving. They returned slowly, then steadily, after the chemical was banned in 1972, and now the bays of Long Island carry hundreds of nests. from the studio

from the studio
Osprey on Long Island bay nest
— bring it home

Osprey on Long Island bay nest, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Osprey on Long Island bay nest

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Long Island reaches roughly 118 miles east of New York Harbor into the Atlantic, and the bays along its South Shore — the Great South Bay, Moriches Bay, Shinnecock Bay — make a long, sheltered hunting ground for osprey. The birds nest on raised platforms in the salt marsh and on channel markers in the bays themselves. New York State lists the osprey as a species of Special Concern, downgraded from Threatened in 1999 after decades of recovery, and the Department of Environmental Conservation tracks nesting platforms across the South Shore and the East End each season.

— the year

The Long Island osprey year runs roughly March to September. Birds return from wintering grounds in the Caribbean and South America in mid-March, repair last year's nest, and lay 2 to 4 eggs in April. Chicks fledge in July, hunt with the adults through August, and head south again by mid-September. The platforms stand empty through the winter, weathered grey above the marsh grass, until the first pair circles back in early spring.

— the water

Osprey are obligate fish-eaters, which is why the bays of Long Island suit them: shallow, sheltered water full of menhaden, bunker, and flounder. A hunting bird hovers thirty to a hundred feet up, folds its wings, and hits the water feet-first. The DDT ban in 1972 was the turning point, and Long Island became one of the long-running case studies in the bird's recovery — from a handful of active nests in the late 1970s to hundreds across the bays today.

— informed by EPA — DDT ban
— where
United States · Long Island, New York
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
at the lake
Great South Bay
bay
5 km S
Fire Island
barrier island
60 km E
Shinnecock Bay
bay
50 km W
Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
wildlife refuge
N
Osprey on Long Island bay nest
Great South Bay
Fire Island
Shinnecock Bay
Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Osprey on Long Island bay nest — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

On raised platforms in salt marshes, on channel markers in the bays, and on utility poles set aside for them. The Great South Bay, Moriches Bay, Shinnecock Bay, and the bays of the North and South Forks all hold active nests.

DDT, a pesticide used widely after World War II, accumulated up the food chain and thinned the eggshells of fish-eating birds. By the early 1970s, only a handful of osprey nests on Long Island were producing young. The pesticide was banned in 1972.

From mid-March through mid-September. Birds return from wintering grounds in the Caribbean and South America in spring, lay eggs in April, fledge chicks in July, and head south again by the end of September.

The osprey is listed as a Species of Special Concern in New York State. It was downgraded from Threatened in 1999, after decades of recovery following the 1972 federal ban on DDT.

Hundreds of active nests are tracked across Long Island's bays each year. The DEC and partner groups monitor platforms across the South Shore and the East End during the breeding season, with the population now stable and growing.

Almost exclusively fish. Bunker, menhaden, flounder, and other shallow-water species from the bays are the staple. Birds hunt by hovering thirty to a hundred feet above the water and diving feet-first to catch fish near the surface.

— about the piece in your home

It has been a meaningful gift for our customers who grew up on Great South Bay or summer along the South Shore. A Small or Medium with a handwritten note from the studio carries the feeling of a familiar bay and a familiar bird.

The platform-and-sky composition works in Coastal-modern, Cape-traditional, and quiet Minimalist rooms. The muted bay blues and marsh-grass golds also sit well against pale oak, lime-washed walls, or white shiplap.

Yes. Biophilic design has moved past generic nature motifs toward specific, named species in their actual habitats. A recovery-story bird like the osprey reads as considered rather than decorative, which is where the trend has gone.

Above a standard sofa, a single Large reads well centered, or a 4-tile Mural for more presence. Above a long console table, a 9-tile Mural in a 3 by 3 grid gives the bird and the sky the room they ask for.

Yes, with the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and well suited to vertical installation in showers, backsplashes, or above a bath. The Glossy finish is reserved for framed wall pieces in dry rooms.

A soft microfibre cloth and clean water. No solvents, no abrasive pads. The colour lives in the ceramic surface beneath a thin glossy finish, so normal household dust and splashes wipe away without affecting the artwork.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original to Wender Studios, painted in our distinctive stained-glass and alcohol-ink visual language, with no third-party licensing. Reid Wender curates the atlas and signs off on every subject we paint.

— if this one stayed with you

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