Determined ospreys are showing a fondness for traffic cameras. The Maryland Transportation Authority has had to remove two nests in one week alone from the ospreys.
Determined ospreys in Maryland are showing a fondness for traffic cameras. The Maryland Transportation Authority has had to remove two nests in one week alone from the ospreys.
The problem is the birds are choosing to build their nest right in front of a traffic camera near Chesapeake Bay Bridge. The latest removal makes it the second time in the past week the birds have chosen that traffic camera for the prime building spot. The day after the latest removal a new stick could be seen on camera indicating they were back at it yet again.
The federally protected birds were basically the focal of the lens leaving little to no room for the devices to catch offending motorists. The ospreys were also caught on film attacking the camera.
Although ospreys are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the nests can be removed from buildings or in this case cameras without a permit, so long as there are no birds or eggs inside them.
Maryland Transportation Authority or MDTA crews chose to wait until the birds flew off before removing the nests. An MDTA spokesman, John Sales commented "We're going to have to either continue to do what we're doing and get up there and get ahead of it before it gets too big, or we will have to consider other options."