Ospreys getting upgrade in Ansonia

UI Partners to establish nesting perch 

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, which 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 Co.. and its partners came up with a solution.

“We wanted to provide a more attractive nesting location for birds and hopefully make things as safe as possible,” said Shawn Crosbie, UIL environmental analyst.

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. Besides an internal team from UI, advising the project were representatives from the City of Ansonia as well as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Dam and Levee Division.
Complete Construction granted permission to UI to install the new nesting platform on company property. 

“We are happy to cooperate with UI to ensure that the ospreys have a safe nesting place,” said Guy DeMaio, Jr., vice president of Complete Construction.

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-by-6 platform at the very top, free from the danger of electrocution. 

The platform in Ansonia was designed following the specification outlined in 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.

Crosbie noted that this is the second platform that UI has created for osprey. 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.  

Ospreys, often known as fish hawks, are exclusively fish-eaters, but can prey on amphibians. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s Migratory Bird Act protects the birds’ breeding habits during certain times of the year, which may pose certain challenges to the utilities. 
Known to mate for life, the birds nest in pairs and usually return to the same nest site and add new nest materials to the old nest each year.

UI is proud to contribute to creating a sustainable environment for all, according to the release.

Below are contributed photos of the newly installed osprey platform on Riverside Drive in Ansonia.

 

A new osprey platform was installed on a 55-foot pole that includes a perch that is four-feet long.

A worker drills the platform into position. The Naugatuck River is to the left.

An aerial view of the osprey platform on Riverside Drive in Ansonia.


This is a press release from United Illuminating Holdings Corp.