Blog # 298 Flying Saucers

It broke my heart to see the old stick Osprey nests on Rt. 5 & 20 torn down and replaced by nesting disks—non-conductive saucers with drain holes in them. A few of the destroyed Osprey nests had been used for nearly two decades and the eldest was already occupied this spring by a male. I watched him add sticks to the nest for over an hour last Sunday. The next day—Monday—he was gone, along with his nearly 3ft-high  nest.  

Osprey pair nest in FiberNest, courtesy of FiberNest. 

These high tension powerlines stretching across NY, MA, and RI are owned by the  National Grid, and they are disk crazy! In addition to "improving" the Osprey nests along  Rt. 5 & 20 crossing the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge, National Grid also took  down 6–7 more nests running along the Seneca River on the Rivers Crossing  Campground property, replacing them with these disks. The campground owner said  that three of the disks have nests in them. I’ll check them out next week. If occupied,  they will be the only disks I’ve seen actively used in this area.  

In Florida, nesting disks are common, but for some reason, northern Ospreys don’t  favor them. Several papers have alluded to this, but no conclusive studies have been  done. Unlike pressure treated wood platforms, the disks resist rot, rust, and corrosion, 

and do not leach chemicals into the environment. If given no choice, Ospreys will nest in  the saucers, but the traditional wooden nest box is preferred. 

National Grid has good intentions as these nest platforms will not catch fire, but  Ospreys have particular and peculiar tastes. Just look at all the “treasures” they will put  in their nests! 

Nestorations in this nest include a stuffed whale toy, green stuffed frog toy,  

teddy bear, blue shirt, corn stalks, and autumnal leaves, courtesy of YouTube. 

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP PROTECT OSPREYS:  

• AVOID GETTING TOO CLOSE TO NESTING SITES DURING THE BREEDING SEASON. IF AN ANIMAL  VOCALIZES WHEN YOU'RE NEAR, YOU ARE TOO CLOSE! BACK OFF IMMEDIATELY. 

• CARRY BINOCULARS TO VIEW WILDLIFE FROM AFAR. 

• RESTORE, CLEAN, AND PRESERVE LAKESHORE AND WETLAND HABITAT. 

• HELP KEEP LOCAL WATERS CLEAN, HEALTHY, AND SAFE. 

• RECYCLE USED FISHING LINE, WHICH CAN BE HAZARDOUS TO OSPREY.  

• JOIN THE CAYUGA OSPREY NETWORK AND VOLUNTEER TO HELP MONITOR OSPREY NESTS. WRITE TO: CEC222@GMAIL.COM.

Eyes to the sky! 

Candace  

Candace E. Cornell  

Friends of Salt Point  

Lansing, NY  

cec222@gmail.com  

EYES ON OSPREYS 

WATCH! 

Coming Soon! Salt Point Osprey Nest Cam 2021 

READ! 

On Osprey Time—A Blog on the Ospreys of Salt Point 

VISIT! 

Cayuga Lake Osprey Trail

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