Editor:
BC Hydro has gone to admirable lengths to mitigate damage to wildlife from its installations.
Recently it noticed an osprey had started a nest atop a power pole at the RC Cotton site, across the channel from the Butterfly Trail at Scout Island.
So it has installed an alternate tower, with a nesting platform, on our side of the water.
It even brought over the same sticks the osprey had gathered and placed them on the new platform.
The next morning, June 10, an osprey began circling the new spot, and two days later a pair were observed sitting on top of it.
Is it too late to lay eggs for this year?
Might they build now for next year?
Fortunately for birders and photographers, the tower is placed with a clear line of sight from the viewing platform off the McMechan room.
You can also watch from below on the Butterfly Trail, so come by and monitor their progress.
Hydro also placed bright orange “roofs” over the nearby power poles to make them unattractive as future nesting sites.
Thanks to everyone at BC Hydro for this and all their conservation efforts.
Jenny Noble, co-ordinator
Scout Island Nature Centre