SHORELINES

28 a p c s hor e l i n e s.c om | 2016 Vol :4 It's an unseasonably warm late October morning as Alabama Power's Renew Our Rivers cleanup boat plies through the not-so-cool waters of Lay Lake. The news reporters on board are eager to video and photograph a bird nest with no birds – at least right now. Eventually, there will be nests filled with long-winged, fish-eating ospreys. Ospreys are large migratory birds classified as "raptors" and known in common vernacular as the "fish eagle" or "river hawk." Although they are not nesting this time of year (nesting season in Alabama typically runs from March to September), their big chunky nests remain wedged in the tops of most every channel marker in this section of the Coosa River a few miles east of Columbiana in Shelby County. The reporters and photographers are here to watch as Alabama Power endeavors to make the lake more hospitable for the grand species. The electric utility, which built Lay Dam and manages Lay Lake, is installing several nesting platforms on top of new channel markers here and at Neely Henry Lake upstream. The platforms make it much easier and more efficient for ospreys to build their nests. The channel markers are an ideal nesting location for the fish-eating ospreys. The markers provide easy access from wide-open water, a clear line of sight to detect predators, such as eagles and a buffet of fresh fish each day. Nest platforms are bolted on top of seven new channel markers the company installed during October and November in both lakes. The 4-foot- by-4-foot platforms, built by employees at the General Services Complex in Calera, resemble large trays with short sides – foundations upon which osprey homes can be built. "Conserving fish and wildlife and their habitat is a key component of how Alabama Power manages its reservoirs and project lands for hydropower generation," says Jason Carlee, an Environmental Affairs supervisor who oversees the company's stewardship projects. He adds the osprey nest project is a "great opportunity to take advantage of a required project. We would be deploying the channel markers, regardless, but now we are able to double their impact and leverage them into a conservation benefit for the birds. "The public benefits from increased safety through better identification of the navigable channel on the reservoirs, and the birds get a better place to build their nests," Carlee says. The increased demand for osprey nesting spots is great news for the species. Osprey and other fish-eating birds, like the bald eagle, were nearly wiped out from widespread use of the pesticide DDT. Fortunately, through focused conservation efforts, ospreys and eagles have made a nice recovery, says Carrie Threadgill, a nongame biologist with the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. "Osprey nest platforms have been a key component to the return of the osprey population in Alabama," Threadgill says. "They are often Left: Photo by steven rod Macleroy — An osprey delivers a meal to her young in a nest on a platform on Lay Lake. "THE PL ACEMENT OF ADDITIONAL NESTING PL ATFORMS ALONG THE L AKES WILL PROVIDE SAFER AREAS FOR THESE L ARGE PREDATORS TO NEST, WHILE ALLOWING THE PUBLIC MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO ENJOY AL ABA M A'S WILDLIFE." – C A R R IE T HR E A D G IL L , A N O N G A M E BI O L O G IS T W I T H T HE A L A B A M A D EPA R TM EN T O F CO NSER VAT I O N A ND N AT UR A L R ES O URCES.

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