At 6:30 a.m., March 31, the mainside Wastewater Treatment Plant lost power. According to Paul Redden, supervisor for the MWTP, the culprit was an osprey that had been electrocuted as it was building a nest atop a power pole, shorting out the lines. Redden said that the Shop 61 high voltage team from Facilities Maintenance Section reset power to the WWTP and cleared branches off the top of the pole.
However, early on April 2, the power shorted out again in the same location. Redden said workers did not find another osprey body, but they did notice that nesting branches were back in the power lines at the top of the pole. The high voltage team again removed the sticks and nest materials, but "osprey activity continued at the same pole," said Redden.
The solution, developed by Tim Stamps, director of the Fish, Wildlife and Agronomy Section, was to build a higher perch in the same location for the birds to build their nest on; that way, the birds and the power lines would both be safe from harm.
Staff from the FMS carpentry shop built the perch, which consists of a wooden post topped by a platform made of 2x4s and wire mesh, and the high voltage team installed it. Deputy Public Works Officer John Dorsey said the teams have actually built and installed several other perches around base for the same reason, to prevent power outages and protect the birds.
Ospreys prefer to nest in locations high off the ground, surrounded by open space to allow room to maneuver, and within a short distance of water that is three to six feet deep, according to the Peregrine Fund website. This makes the power and light poles aboard Marine Corps Base Quantico, located on the Potomac River, optimal nesting locations from the birds’ perspective.
The new perch was installed on April 4, and according to Redden, whose office is located within a few dozen feet of the power pole, sticks were in place just two days later. A sizeable nest had been built by the end of the month, and a pair of osprey were seen mating April 30, indicating the birds are comfortable in their new location.
According to Stamps, the birds lay eggs in late April or early May, and with an average incubation of about 38 days, chicks should be hatching around base in mid-June.