Date:  Friday, March 12, 2010

Contact: Tom Cash, WSDOT Traffic Operations, (360) 905-2244 (Vancouver)
Abbi Russell, WSDOT Communications, (360) 905-2058 (Vancouver)

VANCOUVER – A large streetlight near the SR 14 westbound on-ramp to I-205 northbound (milepost 6.6) isn’t working, and on March 16 WSDOT crews will lower the light head to make repairs. This would be business as usual, but this particular streetlight is home to a six-foot-wide osprey nest that is likely to be damaged during the repair process.

The nest is currently vacant and rests on top of the light head, which is made up of clusters of lights in a ring around the streetlight pole. At 100 feet tall, the streetlight is too tall for crews to reach with a bucket truck, so they will lower the light head down the pole using a motorized cable system.

Crews will leave the nest materials – tree branches and smaller sticks – nearby. The ospreys have rebuilt in the past, and having nest materials readily available will make it easier for them to do so.

WSDOT makes every effort to take nesting birds into consideration when scheduling construction and maintenance work. We schedule work outside of nesting season, which for ospreys is April 1 to September 30.

If work cannot be scheduled outside of the general nesting period for that species, we try to determine the schedule for that pair of birds, and schedule our work outside of the incubation and fledgling period.

Ospreys commonly nest on manmade structures such as bridges, light and telephone poles and channel markers.

WSDOT sometimes provides alternative nest sites by relocating the nest prior to nesting season. In this case, the ospreys have shown a preference for this site, and relocation may be more detrimental than allowing the birds to rebuild.

For more information about accommodations WSDOT makes for wildlife, please visit http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/environment.

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WSDOT keeps people, businesses and the economy moving by operating and improving the state's transportation systems. To learn more about what we're doing, go to www.wsdot.wa.gov/news for pictures, videos, news and blogs. Real time traffic information is available at www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic or by dialing 5-1-1.

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