Osprey Left Homeless After PSEG Removes Nest; Neighbors Outraged

FLANDERS, NY — Osprey left homeless after PSEG removed their nest have left a community outraged.

Residents have been turning to social media to cry out after the nest was removed in Riverside Monday.

A Facebook page, Homeless Ospreys, was created, which states that on Monday, PSEG contracted with a company to remove debris from utility poles on Flanders Road in Riverside — and, in the process, a family of osprey was evicted.

Not only did workers remove the nest, they threw the nest materials into the adjoining bushes and on the ground, including pieces of black garbage bags and other debris, Flanders resident Terry Flanagan said.

Flanagan said the frantic osprey are desperately to rebuild in the same exact spot where the next was sited. "They will rebuild in place and PSEG will evict them again due to type of pole. PSEG — give them their own pole," Flanagan implored.

According to media representative Elizabeth Flagler, PSEG had two reports of arcing wires at that location over the weekend. "The nest was inactive, so we removed the nest today before the birds return and start nesting," she said. "It is safer for the birds and the electric system to remove the nest before it catches fire and causes an outage affecting a large area of customers. It would be worse if the birds laid their eggs, had chicks and the nest caught fire."

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation was notified, Flagler said.

Flanagan said he agreed there was a legitimate concern about the nest being built atop insulators that could cause a fire.

But he said he believed PSEG was "outright lying" about the nest being unoccupied; the osprey have been back for two weeks, he said — and residents have taken photos of the birds at the nest.

"We don't have a lot in the Flanders/Riverside area — but we do have our osprey," Flanagan said. "They're a great source of pride for us."

Watching the osprey circle over the spot, Flanagan said workers should have reported that the nest was, indeed, occupied.

And now, seeing the birds trying to rebuild, he said, "is really very sad. All they know is that they had a nest, and now, it's gone."

He and others are urging PSEG to erect another pole for the osprey; Flanagan reminded that there are regulations protecting nests.

The federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 states that it is illegal to disturb or destroy a nest containing eggs or birds.

While PSEG maintains that the nest was inactive, neighbors disagree.

PSEG did not immediately respond to a question about the possibility of erecting a new pole.

Flanagan said the community feels blessed that the osprey have rallied after years of seeing numbers plummet due to the pesticide DDT.

"We're lucky to have them come back," he said.

Patch courtesy photo.