Skip to content

Osprey nest moved away from power pole

Joint effort a ‘win-win’ for birds and company plagued by power outages
73581abbotsfordOsprey1
The nest of a pair of ospreys was relocated from a power pole to a specially built pole at a local gravel operation. The gravel company was assisted by several local organizations to complete the move.

A pair of ospreys will return from South America in the spring to a new home, thanks to a team effort at a local gravel operation.

The large raptors had built a nest several years ago on top of a power pole at Mainland Sand & Gravel’s (MSG) wash plant.

Over the years, the birds added to their home. But as they built, stray sticks would occasionally end up falling onto one of the three transformers below the growing nest.

Often, that would knock out power to the whole business.

The solution came thanks to the Ridgedale Rod & Gun Club and the British Columbia Wildlife Federation’s (BCWF) Lower Mainland Region, which developed a plan to relocate the nest onto another pole.

 

The company was happy with the plan, and the groups then worked with well-known ecologist David Hancock to find a site for the birds’ new home.

The company decided to put up two poles with platforms, with wood donated by MJ Concrete Pumping, and rubber screens for inside the platforms supplied by MSG.

With the province signing off on a permit to relocate the nest in late November, the plan went ahead, with the pole and platform  installed, and the nest moved five days later to a nearby site with a stunning river view.

It won’t be until the spring until the ospreys arrive back in the Lower Mainland, but David Oliver, a Ridgedale Rod & Gun Club past president and BCWF treasurer, who helped spearhead the move, said they’ve been told that the birds usually accept their move.

“It’s a win-win for the birds and the company,” he said.