Idaho Power was out along State Street earlier this week relocating some osprey who had a nest that was causing some problems. Our crew moved it to a location with a little less traffic, closer to the river, and the birds seemed to be happy with the new location. I’m sending along some b-roll video, along with the short eNews that we produced. Hopefully, this is something you guys can use. The video was shot by Lon Van Wyck, Idaho Power Videographer.
Idaho Power has a very active program aimed at reducing potential contact between birds of prey and our equipment, both for the safety of the birds and the integrity of the electrical system. We work hard installing nesting platforms, moving unsafe nests and installing other equipment designed to protect the birds from potential contact.
Osprey don’t seem to mind nesting close to people, so they had set up housekeeping on a platform above some of our equipment on State Street in West Boise. It’s a pretty congested area, and not really a good area for them. Ospreys have messy nests, so the sticks they use can get down into the electrical equipment. Bits of the nest also fall on the ground and create a hazard for people.
So our crews went out and installed a new platform a short distance away. The ospreys were on the new nesting site by the next day.
“I’ve gotten a lot of calls from customers who love to watch these birds they love to see it right in their neighborhood, so when this nest was moved people were really concerned that we had taken away that opportunity to nest,” said Idaho Power biologist Natalie Turley.
