This is a a guest post from one of our readers, who cared enough about the Ospreys to contact Enmax about the nest removal. Thank you for your email Susan.
Hi there. I know a lot of people were concerned about the Osprey nest that was removed from the top of an Enmax pole on MacLeod trail just south of Canyon Meadows Drive. Thought I’d send this your way for your information.
I just got off the phone with Doris Koffman at Enmax, she is in the Environmental department, and is very well informed about the Osprey, not only on MacLeod trail but in other areas of the city. I felt very confident with the conversation I had with her in that I felt she answered the questions we had about the removal of the Osprey nest on MacLeod Trail.
I asked her why Enmax had removed the nest, and if there were eggs or fledglings in the nest. Doris told me that there were no eggs nor fledglings in the nest at all. You probably are aware when Enmax “cleaned” up the nest 10 days to 2 weeks ago. It was posing a significant fire/electrical hazard, not only to the public but also to the osprey themselves as they have a very large wing span that could very easily come in contact with 2 wires at the same time, which, if this happened, the bird would not have survived. Just recently, somewhere else in Calgary an osprey nest had become fully engulfed in flames when it came into contact with the power lines. I asked her again if there were any babies or eggs in our MacLeod Trail nest and she assured me that there weren’t and that this pair of osprey were likely infertile.
She mentioned that Enmax puts up alternative electric-less poles for the sole purpose of relocating birds of all types and that directly across MacLeod Trail into Fish Creek park there is a potential site for one of these poles for the Ospreys.
She seemed as genuinely concerned about the Osprey as we have been so I guess it was all in the name of safety, thankfully we can still see these beautiful birds flying around that area and they are still around to fly another day.
Thought I’d pass this on to you, not sure how or where else we could put this message for all the other concerned Osprey fans.
Regards, Susan LeBlanc
I also was watching that nest with absolute fascination, and almost cried when I saw it was removed. I didnt think that nesting pairs built nests and lived in them alone.
However, on a positive note, my husband and I were fishing @ Lake Bonavista, where we live, and we noticed immediately that the single osprey has been joined by 2 more. I believe they are the pair from Macleod Trail!
Happy ending, and all the rainbow trout they can eat, in a very safe environment!
I spoke with another representative of Enmax and I let her know that the public and the birding community was concerned that the removal of this nest may not have been handled properly, and that young Osprey chicks or eggs may have been involved. I was assured that that was not the case. There are strict procedures that they have to follow when they when find a nest that may be a danger to the birds or the power system, and she says these were followed. I suggested that they could avoid bad publicity if removals like these were announced ahead of time and if it could be shown that there were no eggs or young present, but she said that in this case a crew came upon the nest in the course of routine maintenance and followed procedures to immediately remove it.
It seems that we have to take Enmax at their word when they say they didn’t know about this nest until the day of the removal, and that they removed it legally in accordance with the law.
Bob Lefebvre
I also got in touch with Enmax regading the removal of the Osprey nest and got the same reply. I also seen for myself, the parents bringing fish into the nest. I am quite sure they were not feeding an empty nest. And that was only a few days before the nest was removed. So maybe the chics had left the nest by then but there definitly was chics in the nest. We heard them. So the adult pair were not “infertile” as reported. It is against the law for anyone to remove a bird of prey’s nest that is active. I hope Enmax follows through with their nesting platforms
I see that there is a new nest on top of the pole directly across MacLeod Trail from the one that was removed. There was an osprey there. Am I seeing things?
Enmax says that the Ospreys were trying to rebuild a nest across the street, but that pole does not belong to them, so they will not remove a nest there.
I am glad to hear that. They also reply to my post too in their Facebook page so hopefully they do get a new home for next year 🙂
Enmax Energy Hi Yliana. We just wanted to let you know that yes, the site is earmarked for a nesting platform this fall (if possible and once the birds have left). But this type of installation requires some regulatory steps, design and engineering work beforehand. Much as we would like it to happen sooner, it is going to take time. We will keep you updated though.
Nice to hear about the apparent concern at Enmax. I didn’t want to wade into a potential “flame war” on Albertabird but I’ve seen a number of electrocuted raptors in rehab settings and it is not pretty. If the nest had been left it seems almost inevitable that either an adult or fledgling would end up getting zapped.
I thought I saw Osprey there a few weeks ago, but then when I recently looked there wasn’t a sign of them. I thought I was going crazy. Thanks for the post!