PSEG Seeks To Set Record Straight On Osprey Nest

SOUTHOLD, NY — After residents expressed concerns a pair of osprey in Southold whose nest was destroyed by lightning — their babies were lost in the fire — PSEG has sought to clear up what they believe are misconceptions about what next steps will be.

The lightning caused a fire in the nest on North Bayview Road near Oakwood Drive in Southold, resident Laura Helf said, resulting in a heartbreaking ending, with two babies dead, as well as a small bird that had died.

"The parents and babies were there on a Tuesday and on Wednesday the entire nest was gone," resident Helf said. "I went to look at the area and saw the adult male. He appears to be fine. I have heard from someone living nearby the female is alive as well. They were allegedly seen on top of the empty pole."

Helf said she contacted Group for East End who sent a representative, as well as PSEG Long Island, asking for a new platform to be put on the pole. "The couple has nowhere to go and it would be horrible if they got separated at this point," she said.

The male osprey sat in a tree for more than 45 minutes with a partially eaten fish, Helf said. "I think he probably wanted to deliver it to his babies," she said.

After days had passed, Helf said she went to assess the situation. "I was a little disturbed. Nothing has been done. When I spoke to PSEG, the information was being forwarded to the people who work with the osprey platforms," she said. "Well, there is no platform. You can see the osprey have tried to make a nest but there are just small sticks and without a platform. This won't work. I did not see the osprey but did hear one close by."

The babies that had died in the fire were still there, too, and had not been removed, she said; a few days later she reported that they had been cleared away.

The osprey have made valiant attempts to rebuild their nest, Helf said. "This was an established nest and has been there for years. Now, these guys don't have anywhere to live while here."
Helf's friend Mary Terry said she has since seen the osprey sitting on top of the pole.

"They need a platform. PSEG seems to be doing nothing but telling lies," Helf said.

On Wednesday, Jeremy Walsh, communications senior generalist for PSEG Long Island said PSEG Long Island was in no way ignoring reports regarding the nest. A member of the PSEG team surveyed the pole as recently as Tuesday afternoon, he said.

"Our personnel have not dropped this issue since it was reported, but as you might imagine, the June 30 storm that severely damaged western Suffolk County was an all-hands-on-deck scenario," Walsh said.

He added that it was important to understand that osprey nesting platforms cannot simply be installed overnight.

"PSEG Long Island has a dedicated, passionate team that works very hard to ensure that osprey can flourish alongside the electric infrastructure that is essential to modern life. They do not work in a vacuum. They must obtain permissions from multiple agencies and perform the work when personnel are not required for priority system repairs," he said. "We learned that this nest existed around June 21, shortly before the lightning strike occurred."

In addition, Walsh said, PSEG is prohibited by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation from disturbing an active osprey nest during nesting season, "so there was nothing we could do at that point. We immediately added it to our list of nests to mitigate in the fall, once nesting season is over."

PSEG Long Island learned about the destruction of the nest by lightning on the afternoon of June 27, which would have been roughly the day after it occurred, Walsh said. "We could only take action once we knew the birds were trying to rebuild the nest. We intended to send someone out to investigate the site on Monday, July 1. However, a line of fierce storms pummeled western Suffolk County on June 30, causing 96,000 customer outages. All personnel spent the next few days working to repair the extensive damage," he said.

And, Walsh added, even though he said PSEG had not received any further public feedback from anyone about the nest, one of the PSEG team went out Tuesday to survey the specific site and see what could be done — as well as two others where there was recent activity.

"Having confirmed the birds were starting to rebuild the nest, we are actively developing a solution that we can implement as soon as we have the necessary permits," Walsh said.

When contacted earlier about the nest, Elizabeth Flagler, media representative for PSEG Long Island responded: "PSEG Long Island was made aware of this nest earlier in the season. The nest was active before we could resolve the situation. We added this location to an osprey nest tracker, we have been compiling and planned to move the nest at the end of the nesting season, according to United States Fish and Wildlife Service regulations. In the meantime, I believe the nest was struck by lightning. The location will remain on the list for remediation in the fall. PSEG Long Island has relocated over 24 nests in 2019. We want to help ensure these wonderful birds continue to return to the area year after year while, at the same time, protecting the reliability of the energy grid."

When asked about a platform, Flagler said, "We will provide a safe space for future nests."

When initially told of PSEG's first response, Helf was outraged. "They are sitting on the few branches they put together. Months is really not acceptable for these poor birds."