Utility tears down osprey nest on power pole near Lake Murray

A pair of ospreys that built a nest on a power pole near the south shore of Lake Murray found themselves homeless Tuesday amid concerns the nest would interrupt power to houses nearby and kill the birds.

The high-voltage line on which the nest sat near Southshore Marina was a perilous spot, said officials with Mid-Carolina Electric Cooperative, which removed the nest Monday.

“It was dangerous for anything in or around it,” Mid-Carolina spokesman Troy Simpson said.

The nest’s removal raised concerns among some shoreline residents who delight in watching the birds soar and hunt fish at the 47,500-acre lake.

“If you live on the lake, you expect to have wildlife that lives and nests there,’’ homeowner Ronn Thompson said.

Ospreys are among the larger birds of prey in the United States. Although not as big as bald eagles, ospreys weigh up to four pounds and have average wingspans of five feet, according to the National Wildlife Federation. Sometimes called “fish hawks,” they often dive rapidly to the surface of the ocean or a lake to pluck prey from the water. They prefer to nest near water, close to the fish they eat.

Osprey nests on power poles often happen in spring, when the birds lay eggs.

The birds prefer to nest in dead trees because there are no leaves to obstruct their views, making tall power poles and cell towers towers attractive as well, said Jim Elliott, director of the Center for Birds of Prey near Charleston.

A dozen poles for ospreys to nest are scattered around the lake’s 650-mile shore, put up by the Lake Murray Association. “This is kind of helping them out,” association president Dave Landis of Lexington said.

Nests can be the size of a tractor-trailer tire and weigh up to 264 pounds, according to the Audubon Society and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The nest in question was found after homeowners complained about osprey droppings on homes and cars in the neighborhood.

An egg was discovered in it, leading to a consultation with state natural resources officials about the situation, according to Bobby Wilbur, utility vice president for operations. But the egg fell out of the nest Monday on its own, clearing the way for removal of the nest, he said.

Razing a nest with eggs or hatchlings requires federal permission. Ospreys, like most birds, are protected under the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Nests considered “inactive,” such as those without eggs, can be taken down without federal approval.

Elliott, as well as Matt Johnson, an ornithologist and educator at the Audubon Society, said it’s preferable to remove an osprey nest after young birds have learned to fly. That typically is in the fall, after nesting season.

“Waiting till the end of the nesting season and then removing nests is helpful. It gives them time to complete the process” of rearing their young, Johnson said.

Mid-Carolina puts extensions atop many of its poles for the birds to nest.

But a nest on this particular site would be a fire hazard, so an umbrella-like device was installed to prevent the birds from returning, Simpson said.

This story was originally published April 19, 2016 at 5:40 PM with the headline "Utility tears down osprey nest on power pole near Lake Murray."