While many communities welcome the return of nesting ospreys each spring, they are less popular with the cell tower industry for the destruction they can cause. In an effort to dislodge the ospreys without harming them, Verizon has summoned eagles to the scene. As The Buffalo News reports, Verizon is finally working with Bird Deterrent Technologies in upstate New York to place eagle decoys on cell tower perches where they hope to discourage nest building. The thought is that the ospreys will view the faux eagles as scary predators and decide to settle somewhere else.
Once an osprey nest is in place, federal laws protecting the endangered birds prohibit cell tower companies from disturbing the avian occupants. The birds can cause service outages and equipment damage to their cell tower homes which cannot be addressed and repaired until after it is clear that they have moved on. Getting the eagle decoys in place before the ospreys arrive is a crucial piece of the cell tower defense strategy.
“This solution also helps ongoing osprey conservation efforts,” said Verizon spokesperson, Chris Serrico. “By encouraging ospreys to nest in natural settings, we help maintain their safety and well-being.”
Verizon has already put the first eagle decoy in place on a Chautauqua County cell tower known to attract ospreys. The cell tower is maintained by SBA Communications, which consulted with Bird Deterrent Technologies before installing the decoy. A second eagle is scheduled to move to its own cell tower perch in the Buffalo area.
“We just don’t want birds to nest in our towers because it’s not ideal for the birds or for us,” noted Serico. “Generally it’s just a bad idea to have birds nesting in our equipment.”
Original Source: Inside Towers
