Over the last few years, ENMAX Power - Distribution has been diligently building platforms in close proximity to utility poles around Calgary that osprey have historically selected as their nesting places. This program has been very successful in persuading the birds to build their nests on the platforms, not the poles. As a result the birds are out of harm’s way, and the risk of service interruptions is greatly diminished.

The high voltage danger to the birds and their hatchlings is actually very minimal, but Line Inspectors and Environmental Affairs are keen to relocate the osprey nest as soon as possible without interfering with the hatchlings in order to eliminate the possibility of the switch being tripped accidentally by the birds’ activities. In the meantime, Line Inspectors are regularly inspecting the site and ever so gently trimming back the twigs and branches of the nest from time to time, so as not to trip the switch. A collaborative effort is currently underway between Distribution crews and Environmental Affairs group to develop a management plan for the platforms and nesting osprey. This plan will involve a monitoring program to ensure the safety of the osprey on our platforms so they can return to a secure habitat year after year.

Each year, George Halmazna of the Calgary Zoo bands osprey chicks with the help of some ENMAX staff and their truck. Information about their species, location and day of banding is entered into a North American database along with their band number. Now that they are banded, the birds' future activities such as their migration routes, nest sites and lifespan can be monitored.

In partnership with ENMAX and the Resorts of the Canadian Rockies, the Calgary Zoo also installed a web camera to capture the seasonal activities of an osprey nest near the Calgary Zoo which has been home to a family of osprey for over 10 years! “This project introduces everyone who has access to a computer and the web into the private lives of a very dramatic bird,” says Brian Keating, head of conservation outreach at the Calgary Zoo. “The ospreys represent a healthy environment, a productive fishery and clean water. They are dramatic birds of prey with a full summer nesting period (they'll migrate in early September). Once the chicks hatch, the parents will bring fish to the nest up to a half dozen times a day. We'll be able to witness the careful feeding of the chicks by the female, and eventually, witness the chicks’ first nervous flight from the nest.”