As World Wildlife Day Arrives, PSEG Long Island is Prepared for the Osprey’s Return

Company removes garbage, debris from nest in anticipation of the raptors’ breeding season

(UNIONDALE, N.Y. – March 3, 2025) As World Wildlife Day is being celebrated on March 3, PSEG Long Island has been busy preparing for osprey breeding season by inspecting known nesting areas and cleaning out debris and garbage in the nest located near the company-installed webcam in Oyster Bay. 

Working from bucket trucks, crews retrieved manmade garbage including plastic bags and fishing line from the osprey nest, helping to ensure the birds and their chicks do not get tangled when the new nesting season begins this spring.

“This time of year is so exciting because we get to see our conservation work pay off when the ospreys — including some of last year’s fledglings — return to continue the life cycle. PSEG Long Island is proud to play a small role in the multi-decade, collaborative effort to bring back Long Island’s osprey population. Good environmental stewardship is part of being strongly involved in the community, and protecting these birds from high-voltage equipment also improves reliability for customers.”

-  David Lyons, Interim President & COO, PSEG Long Island

To view an embeddable YouTube video of the nest cleanups, click here. For downloadable photos of the 2025 nest cleanup, click here.

Ospreys build their nests on the tallest structure near a body of water. To proactively monitor its utility poles for osprey nests, PSEG Long Island partners closely with Group for the East End, a nonprofit organization that has advocated for the protection and preservation of nature on the East End since 1972. Volunteers with the nonprofit conduct their own surveys of the area and share osprey data with the company, which maintains a team dedicated to mitigating risks and relocating nests safely and in accordance with all regulations protecting the wildlife. 

According to a 2023 report issued by the Group for the East End, osprey breeding activity on the East End increased by 200% in eight years, with 199 active nests in 2014 growing to 477 in the summer of 2022.

In balancing its commitment to the consistent, safe delivery of power for its customers with its commitment to being a good environmental steward, PSEG Long Island has installed dozens of osprey nesting platforms and protective equipment to deter the returning birds from nesting on electrical equipment, which puts both the raptors and the electrical system in danger. Maintaining the nesting platforms helps PSEG Long Island maintain strong electric service reliability.

PSEG Long Island maintains a 24-hour webcam at one of these nesting platforms in Oyster Bay. Due to construction planned in the immediate vicinity of the Patchogue osprey platform, PSEG Long Island relocated this platform to a nearby location so that the returning osprey may continue to prosper away from construction activities and human interference. However, it was not possible to reconnect the osprey camera at this new location. For more information about osprey and to view live webcam feed of the Oyster Bay nest, visit psegliny.com/wildlife/ospreycam.

Human garbage is hazardous to the birds. Many times, the osprey will gather garbage, such as plastic bags and fishing wire to build their nests. Fishing lines and strings may wrap around the birds’ feet, preventing them from leaving the nest. Plastic litter is very easy to find and since the birds live close to humans, plastics often are found in nests. 

When ospreys build a nest on electrical equipment, it puts the nest in danger of catching fire, which can cause significant damage and outages to customers, as well has harm to the osprey. The birds are at high risk of electrocution, as their large wingspan can complete the circuit between closely spaced energized equipment or between an energized wire and a neutral ground wire. 

To learn more about how PSEG Long Island works to protect wildlife, visit psegliny.com/wildlife.

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PSEG Long Island
PSEG Long Island operates the Long Island Power Authority’s transmission and distribution system under a long-term contract.  PSEG Long Island is a subsidiary of Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. (PSEG) (NYSE:PEG), a publicly traded diversified energy company.