Pearson Pilings Helps Maine Homeowner Provide Safe Nesting Area for Local Osprey
Hopswell, Maine
For John T. in Hopswell, Maine, it started with a glance to the sky. “I noticed an osprey circling, but not staying on the property,” he recalls. Looking to help his feathered friend find a nesting spot, and discourage the osprey from nesting on the dock of his waterfront property, John first worked with his contractor to fashion a platform on a repurposed telephone pole.
“It was inadequate,” he recalls. “The ospreys had no interest in it. They really wanted to be above the treeline and at 25-feet, it wasn’t tall enough.”
Looking Online for the Best Osprey Nest
While online looking for an alternative, John stumbled across an ad for Pearson Piling’s Osprey Pad. Encouraged by the proximity of his New England neighbor, John decided to give Mark Pearson, president of Pearson Pilings, a call. “It was a very simple process,” John explains. “I reached out to Mark directly and he answered very quickly.”
Working directly with John’s contractor, Mark coordinated the transport and installation of the lightweight, 45-foot-high perch. “Mark was really easy to deal with,” John continues. “He even gave great tips on how to lift up the structure and support it.” Made from strong, lightweight and environmentally friendly composite, the new nesting perch proved far superior to its predecessor. Comparing the Pearson Pilings Osprey Pad with the previous attempt, the second-hand telephone pole was “twice as heavy and half as high.”
An Outlook that’s Sky High
While the installation took place in early August, when ospreys are just preparing to migrate, the new nesting spot was already a hit for prospective parents. “Within ten days, the ospreys were dropping sticks,” John reports, “and within two weeks they were very enthusiastically building nests.” In fact, although one lucky couple had already called dibs, the osprey pad continued to attract attention, even catching the eye of another osprey pair who “flew back and did a double take,” according to John.
Though only time will tell if the osprey will return to the pad to maintain the nest and lay eggs in the spring, the outlook is good. All-in-all, “it was a really great experience,” for John. And for the osprey on John’s property, things are looking up.
Looking for solutions that are taller, stronger and more cost effective than the competition? Contact Pearson Pilings to discuss your project today.
Compared to the Pearson Pilings Osprey Pad, the first attempt was ‘twice as heavy and half as high.’—John T., Customer