NYSEG builds Osprey bird boxes with help from CV students
(WIVT/WBGH) – NYSEG was at Chenango Valley High School this morning, installing a bird box, and creating a nest for a federally protected bird species.
NYSEG stood up a new utility pole, and at the top, installed a wooden osprey platform to give the birds a nest when they migrate back to the area in Spring.
Students at CV helped build the platforms, which include a perch, and a discreet camera, so the community can watch as the ospreys make it their home.
Ospreys will return to the same nest every year with the same mate, for their entire lives, which is generally 15 to 20 years.
The manager of vegetation management at AVANGRID, Paul Paradine says the high school is a great location for a nest, being close to the river and the pond on campus.
'Ospreys have lost a lot of their natural habitat. And so, traditionally, they would nest in trees, dead, decaying trees, large tree species. There's fewer of those around. So, what we do is we substitute that with essentially a tall utility pole to give them that nesting location and give them a safe environment to raise their young,' said Paradine.
Ospreys prefer to build their nests at the highest point to keep watch and protect their eggs.
NYSEG says they have more than 100 other nest boxes throughout the region.
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