The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Bright sparks provide perfect osprey platform
Man-made nest makes it possible for work to take place
A pair of ospreys have made the return trip from Africa to a man-made des res specially created for them on the border of Angus and Perthshire.
The rare raptors can look forward to a summer of romance uninterrupted by overhead line works to a pylon which was their previous love nest for nigh on three decades.
Until 2014, the fish-eating birds had faithfully made their annual journey thousands of miles from West Africa to the Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) tower near Alyth, but with important engineering works on the horizon, experts hatched a plan to create a new home for the summer migrants.
In March 2014, SSEN erected a 25-metre tall platform along with two 8.5 metre tall perching posts under the guidance of osprey expert Roy Dennis from the Highland Foundation for Wildlife, and in consultation with Scottish Natural Heritage and Perth and Kinross Council.
The renesting was undertaken to allow for future development of a substation at the site and will also allow for overhead line works on that tower to be carried out this summer without the risk of disrupting their nest when it is in use.
Although the birds were given a choice in 2014 of their original nest, which was left in place on the transmission tower, to the surprise and delight of the project team the ospreys went straight to the purpose-built platform and bred successfully.
The old nest was removed the following winter.
SSEN lead environmental project manager Keith Thomson said: “The mitigation works have been a great success at Alyth and show how environmental impacts can be minimised.
“It is great to see that the ospreys continue to return and utilise the purpose built nest while allowing critical works to be safely undertaken on the transmission network.”
SSEN has decided to formally monitor the platform during the breeding season this year to demonstrate its ongoing success.
Although the platform is visible from public roads, SSEN has made a plea to watchers not to approach the platform in order to minimise the risk of the ospreys being disturbed.
“It is an offence to disturb an osprey whilst it is building a nest or is in, on, or near a nest containing eggs or young and it is also an offence to disturb their dependent young,” they said.