Osprey Quandary

Osprey love nesting atop utility poles and other human structures — but it turns out this might not be the best real estate match.

Where do Cape Cod Ospreys nest?

06 JUNE 2024 - EASTHAM, MA -  Osprey love building their nests atop utility poles and other human structures ...  but it turns out this might not be the best real estate match. Eastham's Wild Care has begun working with Eversouce as a sort of avian condo relocation expert to help eggs find a safer home.

Why do osprey like utility poles?

Osprey have few native trees remaining in which to nest, so they turn to utility poles, flag poles and the like - basically something reaching 20-30 feet in the air, with a structure to support a big eagle nest. On utility poles, the double bar cross arms form a nice stable platform for nest building and that seems to make them particularly attractive - but building a nest in live wires also means the birds can get electrocuted or the nests can catch on fire, an outcome good for neither osprey nor electric customers.

How do people protect osprey nests?

Eversource developed a Cape Cod osprey plan, and works with organizations like Wild Care and Mass Audubon, the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, and municipalities to mange the nesting cycle.

The best case, said Wild Care's Ellis, is to put up a deterrent before the birds begin nesting, encouraging them to find a different location. If the birds are already nesting hot and heavy, sometimes introducing an alternative platform to build upon may work. But once there are eggs, the game changes; the USDA gets involved because federal and state law protect osprey. The USDA can allow approved handlers to remove the eggs and place them in a safer nest with a foster osprey family. Worst case, the eggs end up in an incubator at a site like like WIld Care, until they can find an adoptive osprey family. 

Why do osprey matter?

Adding to the challenge, the nests are 20-30 feet in the air - so it takes drones, cranes, and other technical maneuvering to reach them - but the effort is worth it. Not that not that long ago these "sea eagles" had virtually disappeared.

In the 1970s widespread use of organochlorine pesticides, such as DDT, took them to the brink. Osprey eat fish, whose flesh contained concentrated DDT. DDT in the bird's system their egg shells, crumbling them before the young could hatch. Today, the Cape's osprey represents a success story with an estimated 500 nesting pairs, representing the greatest osprey concentration in Massachusetts.