The ospreys are back just in time to dazzle volunteer naturalists

This traditional sign of spring may or may not mean we can put away the snow shovels.

As wacky as the weather has been this winter, you'd think the sleek raptors that love our fresh seafood might put off their family-making vacations for a while.

But no. They're here, and their nests need a lot of work. The Web-cam stars on the Palmetto Electric Cooperative site (www.palmetto.coop/community/en_osprey.html) already are mating and trying to fend off an interloper.

And I saw a different pair on Monday morning. The infamous "bridge ospreys" are back on the electric tower in Mackays Creek beside the bridge to Hilton Head Island.

They arrive like clockwork from South America to bear young here in the Lowcountry.

Their built-in calendars, watches and GPS systems never cease to amaze.

This year, their timing coincides with something more down to earth for the humans who have made their nests in the Lowcountry.

The Lowcountry Master Naturalist Association held its annual meeting this week at the Beaufort Yacht & Sailing Club.

This is good news. The oyster roast that more than 150 Master Naturalists enjoyed means there's a healthy interest in what makes Beaufort County special.

The S.C. Master Naturalist Program started here in 1999 as a cooperative venture between the Clemson University Extension Service and the Lowcountry Institute on Spring Island.

Its mission is "to create a corps of citizen volunteers well trained in the fundamentals of natural history, nature interpretation and the interface of humans and nature in order to empower them to contribute their time and talents to responsible, science-based environmental stewardship."

We have about 280 graduates now in our community. They're newcomers and old-timers alike. To accommodate demand, three class options are available, including weekend classes for teachers.

They learn, then they volunteer. Last year, for example, graduates documented every osprey nest in Beaufort County.

Get involved by calling the Lowcountry Institute at 843-987-7008 or see its Web site at www.lowcountryinstitute.org.

To be good stewards of the Lowcountry requires education. And then -- like osprey rebuilding their nests -- it requires action.