Date: 3/10/26 11:59 am From: Dave Nutter (via CAYUGABIRDS-L list) <CAYUGABIRDS-L...> Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] Ospreys will return soon
I've been told I spelt Paul's name incorrectly and that it's Paradine. Thank-you, Donna. Sorry about that, Paul. - - Dave Nutter
On Mar 10, 2026, at 2:16 PM, Dave Nutter (via CAYUGABIRDS-L list) <CAYUGABIRDS-L...> wrote:
A wooden power pole with 2 parallel crossbars at the top is a very attractive nest site for Ospreys. When Ospreys started to nest in our region, I think at Montezuma NWR first, NYSEG had a policy of pulling down any Osprey nest they found on their poles, because the sticks can touch the wires causing a short or a fire. The Ospreys probably returned to see their nest on the ground, thought "I didn't build it strong enough", and started over. Everybody lost: the Ospreys couldn't raise young, and NYSEG workers kept coming back to pull it down and looking like meanies. Then a forester named Paul Parradine who worked for NYSEG proposed a different tactic whenever such an Osprey nest start was found atop one of their poles. Instead of chucking the nest on the ground, they would carefully and temporarily remove it. Add an extension to the pole. Top it with a wooden nest platform, complete with a railing to keep the nest in place and a perch for the male, constructed by Parradine and his crew. Place the nest in the platform. The Ospreys return, initially a bit surprised at the new height but pleased with the amenities. Everyone wins: Ospreys raise young, and over the course of generations they spread south to Ithaca. The public loves them. NYSEG doesn't have to return to that pole, and they are heroes for helping Ospreys. I don't know why the nest was removed on Middaugh road. It's possible that Paul Parradine has retired, or for some other reason NYSEG has decided it's too much trouble to accommodate every Osprey nest. But I am grateful for the work that NYSEG allowed, and I credit Parradine almost single-handedly for the range expansion of Ospreys throughout the Cayuga Lake Basin - - Dave Nutter PS Please correct what I got wrong, and add what's missing.
On Mar 9, 2026, at 2:32 PM, Yvette de Boer (via CAYUGABIRDS-L list) <CAYUGABIRDS-L...> wrote:
Hi everyone, I live near the nest on Middaugh Road in Brooktondale. The nest has been removed and there is an orange cone where the nest was. I called the DEC and although the person who oversees this was not in the office, the person I spoke to said that NYSEG most likely received a permit to remove this nest. He said that nests on power lines can be dangerous both for the birds as well as potential for fire. So sometimes they are removed for these reasons. I am waiting to hear back for the official word, but in the meantime the nest is definitely gone. If the birds do come back and rebuild somewhere close by I will let know. - Yvette
On Mar 9, 2026, at 12:31 PM, Karen Edelstein <karen.edelstein...> wrote:
And just a reminder here.... I've been maintaining THIS INTERACTIVE MAP of the Cayuga Lake Osprey trail for Candace and the birding community over the past decade or so. Due to some of Candace's mobility restrictions, there haven't been any additions since last winter. I'm happy to update and correct anything listed here, so please loop me in. Karen On Mon, Mar 9, 2026 at 10:17 AM Dave Nutter (via CAYUGABIRDS-L list) <CAYUGABIRDS-L...> wrote:
Candace Cornell is no longer able to get out to check Osprey nests, but she and I are both interested in early arrivals. Please post to CayugaBirds-L any sightings of Ospreys in March around Tompkins County, Cayuga Lake or the Montezuma area. If you think your sighting might be the first record or you are using eBird or Merlin and they call it "rare", please try to snap a photo - even a lousy hand-held phone photo can help immensely - or say what features helped you ID the bird. Those records especially help to document changes in migration. If the Osprey was at a nest please describe where and whether it is on a platform or not. Thanks! And happy Spring!
