TENNESSEE VALLEY-With an average wingspan of five feet, an osprey’s fully spread wings are capable of touching closely-spaced, energized equipment or connecting an energized wire and a ground wire. TVA’s Osprey Research Project focuses on finding ways to protect both birds and asset structures, with help from data collected from tagged and banded ospreys.
Watch the collaborative efforts of TVA, Watts Bar Nuclear Environmental and Transmission teams, NRM-East, Mississippi State University (MSU), Guntersville Electric Board (GEB), and USDA-Wildlife Services (USDA-WS), as staff members catch, tag and band 12 adult ospreys. The birds were captured on alternative platforms installed by local electric companies (GEB) and on TVA power property outside Watts Bar’s protection area.
Alternative platforms have proven to provide low-risk nesting opportunities for osprey across the Valley. The osprey capture was made possible by bucket truck support from GEB and TVA’s Transmission group.
Media Release/TVA Newsroom
