Community Corner

JCP&L Lends Helping Hand in Moving Osprey Nest in Oceanport

The ospreys had built a nest close to power lines.

By Christopher Sheldon

Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L) with the help of several wildlife groups helped move an osprey nest in Oceanport that had been built too close to power lines.

The nest was built on top of the borough's emergency alert siren in Blackberry Bay Park.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Wildlife Services and the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife worked with JCP&L to install a new pole and nest box to move the nest from the energized wires. They then moved the nest and eggs to the top of the new pole.

“I am proud of our employees for their dedication and support of this project because it mirrors the company’s commitment to protecting the environment,” JCP&L President Jim Fakult said in a release. “By working together with USDA and the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife we can help support a better future for threatened wildlife like the osprey.”

The release states that osprey numbers had dropped to only 50 pairs in New Jersey in the mid-1970s.

"Since then, New Jersey osprey numbers have recovered to near historic levels of more than 480 nesting pairs," the release states. "Developing alternative nesting sites have played an important part in the recovery."


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