\n\t\t\t\t\t\tPeople in Camden are raising concerns after a pair of nesting ospreys were electrocuted on a utility pole owned by Central Maine Power.Last fall, Central Maine Power (CMP) removed a nest platform pole near Camden-Rockport Middle School when local ospreys had migrated away. Ospreys typically return to northern states like Maine during the spring, when conditions become more ideal to nest their young during the summer season.CMP communications manager Dustin Wlodkowski said that debris from the osprey nest on the platform pole had been interfering with the power line, which would cause power issues for nearly 3,000 Camden residents.\u201cWhat we were seeing was parts of an osprey nest falling down onto what\u2019s called a smart device, and a smart device is a piece of equipment that we put on our system so that we can restore power remotely instead of making repairs on the ground,\u201d Wlodkowski told WMTW media partner WABI.CMP put up another nesting platform about 40 yards away from the original platform location for the returning ospreys. While the pair of ospreys from previous years has since begun nesting on the new platform, an additional pair of ospreys started to build a nest in the initial location.\u201cNot having that platform to build their nest on, they started creating a new nest on the new poles, and it looks like two of them were electrocuted,\u201d said Camden Select Board vice chair Alison McKellar.The cause of the ospreys’ death was confirmed by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. McKellar had contacted CMP and other local organizations on Monday, saying that CMP had not properly communicated with local residents in regard to taking down the nest platform.\u201cI think what they did was the least expensive, bare-minimum thing that they could have done, and it didn\u2019t work out for the birds,” McKellar said. “I\u2019m especially concerned that this will be occurring more across the state.”Wlodkowski said CMP is as cautious as possible to maintain local wildlife, including the installation of platform nests. Additionally, Wlodkowski said that platform nests had been constructed with the help of local high school students, adding to CMP’s mission of preventing interference with utility lines by local wildlife.\u201cWe take incidents like this very seriously,” Wlodkowski said. “We serve an area larger than the state of Connecticut, so our equipment does co-exist with wildlife across the regions of Maine that we serve.”Maine Audubon outreach manager Nick Lund said ospreys require large and sturdy structures to build their nests without understanding the danger involved, exacerbated further by the climate of coastal Maine, which proves to be highly beneficial for ospreys during nesting season.\u201cThey have these big, heavy and gigantic nests, and they need large, heavy things to support their nests,” Lund said. “In years past, it was large dense trees generally. Anywhere near water, freshwater or saltwater, is great for them. The entire coast of Maine is osprey paradise and so this is a likely place to come in conflict with certain nesting areas.\u201d\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\tCAMDEN, Maine \u2014<\/strong> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n People in Camden are raising concerns after a pair of nesting ospreys were electrocuted on a utility pole owned by Central Maine Power.<\/p>\n Last fall, Central Maine Power (CMP) removed a nest platform pole near Camden-Rockport Middle School when local ospreys had migrated away. Ospreys typically return to northern states like Maine during the spring, when conditions become more ideal to nest their young during the summer season.<\/p>\n CMP communications manager Dustin Wlodkowski said that debris from the osprey nest on the platform pole had been interfering with the power line, which would cause power issues for nearly 3,000 Camden residents.<\/p>\n