Osprey Platform
Ansonia, CT – A popular pastime for many in the spring and summer is watching ospreys flying into their nests with fresh-caught fish to feed their chicks.It is a scene of natural wonder, but one that can be dangerous for some of the ospreys, that sometimes choose to build their nests high atop electric utility poles with high-voltage wires.
In Ansonia, the birds’ insistence on nesting in one particular location on Riverside Drive has posed a dilemma. The nest has been a source of some outages and power interruptions. So The United Illuminating Company (UI) in Orange and its partners came up with a solution.
UI constructed a new nesting platform near the site of some existing utility lines, where the ospreys can build their nest in peace, away from the dangerous high-voltage wires.
The new osprey riverfront high-rise stands atop a taller, treated pole about 50 feet from the original nest site. The new pole, which is 55 feet tall, includes a four-foot-long perch, and the ospreys can deposit their nesting material on a flat, 6 x 6 platform at the very top, free from the danger of electrocution.
The platform in Ansonia was designed following the specification outlined in the Office of Long Island Sound’s General Permit for Osprey Platforms.
Putting up an alternative but taller nesting structure nearby has been a proven way of getting the birds off a pole, as the birds prefer a higher site. Last year, UI installed a platform in Milford that has yielded two healthy young ospreys. Other sites UI is currently scouting include Fairfield and New Haven.
