Ospreys return to Bath roadside 2 years after CMP removes nest

Ospreys Make a Comeback on Leeman Highway
Two chicks take flight from new utility‑built platform, marking first successful nest since 2024 removal

For the first time since a high‑profile eviction in 2024, a pair of ospreys has successfully raised two chicks on Leeman Highway in Bath. The breakthrough, witnessed this summer by local bird enthusiast Joanne Adams, is being hailed as a victory for both wildlife and the community that rallied to protect the raptors.

In the spring of 2024, Central Maine Power pulled a long‑standing osprey nest from a utility pole along Route 1 after warnings that the structure posed a fire risk and could knock out service for more than 5,000 customers. The move sparked outrage among Bath residents, who feared the birds would be left without a home.

Adams, a longtime osprey watcher, quickly mobilized neighbors. “I knew the only way to get things moving was to bring people together,” she said. A Facebook group she created, “Leeman Highway Osprey Advocates of Bath Maine and Beyond,” attracted more than 1,000 members within weeks, turning a local concern into a coordinated campaign.

Responding to the public pressure, CMP erected a temporary perch later that year, but the birds ignored it. In the fall, the utility installed a permanent platform built by students at Somerset Career and Technical Center, using design guidance from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. The project required cooperation with the Maine Department of Transportation, which owns the land, and the city of Bath.

When the platform finally opened, it sat empty through the winter and into early spring. In April, Adams spotted a breeding pair circling the structure, adding sticks and grasses in preparation for nesting. Weeks passed with little visible activity, and she worried the birds had abandoned the site. Then, in June, she counted four ospreys perched together—two adults and two downy chicks.

“Suddenly, they had two chicks,” Adams recalled with a grin. “It was the moment we’d all been hoping for.”

The juveniles have grown rapidly. Their eyes, still a bright orange, will turn yellow as they mature, and their white‑tipped plumage distinguishes them from their darker parents. One of the fledglings already took its first short flight this week, and the other is expected to follow suit soon.

Greg Thompson, CMP’s community‑relations manager, said the utility is thrilled with the outcome. “Since 2024, we’ve been very proactive that as we do a project, or as we’re working in an area, or as we find a nest that could be impactful to the system, we proactively look for a way to get a platform up and move that nest to the platform,” he explained. “Therefore, we’re removing the liability to the system at the same time as placing a spot where the birds can thrive.”

The Leeman Highway success is not an isolated case. CMP reports that, following the controversy, it has installed more than 30 osprey platforms statewide, moving nests that threatened power infrastructure while providing safer breeding sites.

Ospreys are drawn to tall, sturdy towers near water because they offer excellent hunting vantage points. However, nests built on live equipment can lead to electrocutions, fires from nesting material, and service interruptions affecting thousands of customers each year, according to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

Thompson encouraged anyone who spots a potentially hazardous nest near power lines to contact CMP or report it via the utility’s email. “Community eyes on the sky are invaluable,” he said.

Adams, who has monitored osprey colonies for more than five decades—inspired by her grandmother’s meticulous observations on Sawyer Island—said the experience has been deeply rewarding. She continues to keep watch over other local nests, including one atop a former funeral home on Washington Street and another at the old Stinson Cannery site.

As the Leeman Highway fledglings prepare to leave the nest for the first time, Adams admits the departure will tug at her heart. “When they leave, I get empty‑nest syndrome,” she said.

The return of ospreys to Leeman Highway underscores what can happen when a utility, local government, and an engaged public work together. For now, the sky above Bath is a little busier—and a little louder—as two young raptors learn to soar.