The family of osprey living on top of a hydro pole in downtown Salmon Arm aren’t getting evicted – yet.
The birds took up residence in the centre of the downtown SASCU Credit Union parking lot more than a year ago and earlier this month new accommodations were created by BC Hydro. Most of the power lines running next to the nest have been turned off and precautions have been taken.
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“Our crew did de-energize two of the three wires on the top of the pole, and provided a protective cover over the electrical line below the nest,” said Tanya Fish, media relations advisor for BC Hydro. “This was done to prevent the nest from causing an electrical short and catching fire.”
The company has decided to leave the nest in place for now because it poses no threat to the system. Come late September though the nest will be moved to another pole BC Hydro erected on the north side of Lakeshore Drive.
BC Hydro expects that when the birds come back in the spring of 2020 they will use the new perch.
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“The osprey will likely frequently perch on the new nest platform to eat fish and we expect the juvenile osprey will also use the new platform in August and September to do short flights and await feeding from parents,” Fish said.
Mary Grant, an employee at SASCU Credit Union for the past year, noticed the nest last summer and learned not to park underneath the nest.
“They’re noisy, we can hear them inside the bank all day long and they’re messy. Other than that they’re fine,” Grant said.
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