Undeterred by the loss of their platform, a pair of ospreys has returned to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.
“They’ve been trying to cobble together a makeshift nest on the gantry all day long Thursday,” said Dave Dildine in the WTOP traffic center.
“It’s not the most ideal location, above a major highway that carries about 100,000 vehicles every day, but they’re determined. Their incredible hemispheric migration back to their nest at the Bay Bridge dwarfs any vacation getaway, and it’s a shame the construction coincides with their predictable return for breeding season.”
In 2014, a pair of the federally-protected birds built a nest right in front of one of the Maryland Transportation Administration’s traffic cameras. Viewers had a front-row seat to life as an osprey.
They didn’t like the camera, and were attacking it, so highway officials removed the nest. They were careful to follow the advice of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, but ended up destroying the nest. (No birds or eggs were harmed, though.)
A few days later, however, they returned. Eventually, highway officials built a platform that would make for a better nesting spot. And of course, they made an Osprey Cam for lunchtime entertainment.
On Thursday, the MDTA said in a series of tweets that work on the lighting structures have deprived the osprey of their platform.
They were undeterred.
The MDTA said the platform would be back before the end of the year, so the birds will have their usual spot back next year. Until then, though, they’re doing what they do.
