Likewise, the Noroton Yacht Club lost the use of its main dock for an entire season because a pair of ospreys had built a home there. Environmental regulations didn't allow touching it until chicks had fledged and the empty nesters had departed.
And then there's fire. The osprey pictured at the beginning of this story is part of a family that built a nest a few years ago atop a utility pole that came into direct contact with high-voltage transmission lines. When the inevitable short circuit occurred, around the middle of the breeding season, the resulting fire consumed nest and fledglings and shut down power to 109 homes in the immediate vicinity.
The utility company agreed with members of Osprey Nation on the need to accommodate the birds, so, in addition to installing protective grating to prevent a repeat, they also set up a separate, single-family platform still in use today.
Photos by Bitsy Farnsworth