PADUCAH – Kentucky transportation and wildlife officials are working with contractors to accommodate ospreys attempting to nest in work zones where new bridges are being constructed over Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake.
”We have worked to provide alternate nesting for the ospreys, for their own protection,” said Chief District Engineer Mike McGregor, of Kentucky Department of Highways District 1, in Paducah. ”So far, our efforts to encourage the birds to move off the existing bridges have had mixed results.”
KYTC engineers are working with various resource agencies to determine how to minimize the impact of construction activity on the birds that have re-established nests on the Kentucky Lake side. “The Transportation Cabinet takes its responsibility to the environment very seriously, and the ospreys that reside within District 1 will continue to be high on our priority list,” McGregor said. “We are working to make sure future generations will be able to enjoy seeing these magnificent birds soar over the Lakes.”
Beginning in 2012 with the start of construction of a new bridge at the Eggners Ferry crossing, personnel from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have worked together to ensure all laws and regulations are being followed when osprey nests are encountered at work sites.
Prior to the start of construction on the new Lakes bridges the Transportation Cabinet funded osprey nesting platforms which Kentucky Fish and Wildlife installed on both lakes. In a recent study, KDFWR Avian Biologist Kate Heyden noted there were 23 active osprey nests in Kentucky in 1999, most along Lake Barkley. Those numbers have continued to increase.
“We conducted a statewide inventory for osprey last year and documented 128 nests. Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley support over 100 of these nests. In 2012, eight nesting platforms were installed near the bridges to provide safe alternate nesting locations for the osprey during reconstruction,” Heyden said.
Of the 128 active nests found in the 2014 osprey count, 17 were constructed on bridges; 7 at Eggners Ferry and 5 at Canton. “The platforms were devised to give the ospreys additional locations ideal for nesting, especially during bridge construction,$B!I(B McGregor said.
“Getting the ospreys to move to alternate nesting locations is of long-term importance because the existing bridges on Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake will be eventually demolished. When that happens, the ospreys are going to have to adapt to new nesting sites, which may also include the new bridges.”
Ospreys within the construction zone for the New Eggners Ferry Bridge over Kentucky Lake and the New Canton Bridge over Lake Barkley are covered under terms of the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act.