Wake Electric Helps Osprey Relocate

This spring, an osprey chose a seemingly perfect spot for its home in Wake County, located high up and in a wide-open area, with ample fishing opportunities in the wetlands and ponds nearby. Unfortunately, that spot was on one of Wake Electric’s high voltage transmission poles.

Nesting in utility structures is unsafe and can be deadly to ospreys and other large birds whose natural wingspan can reach up to 6 feet. If the bird or their nest were to make contact with a power line, it could potentially cause injury to the bird or a fire and could lead to power outages and costly damage.

“As a local electric cooperative, we are very concerned with our local community, and we care about wildlife and the environment, too,” said Don Bowman, vice president of engineering and operations at Wake Forest-based Wake Electric. “We knew that we needed to take measures to keep the birds in that area safe and protect our equipment.”

Osprey

After the nest was discovered, Wake Electric moved quickly to create a safe solution and constructed an 85-foot pole with a platform for the bird to build a nest out of harm’s way. Once the platform was built, the osprey took to the new, taller nesting spot.

The new platform will allow safe and natural nesting for osprey around the surrounding wetlands while safeguarding important electrical equipment.