ST. ANTHONY, Idaho — Concerns among Idaho Transportation Department officials that moving a 600-pound osprey nest from an 82-year-old eastern Idaho bridge could lead to its abandonment proved unwarranted.
Crews removed the nest April 4 and placed it in storage until Monday. Meanwhile, the ospreys returned to the area looking for their nest.
Senior Environmental Planner Tim Cramer told the Idaho State Journal that the ospreys watched crews hoist the nest atop a platform on a 45-foot pole 100 yards from the bridge.
He said 20 minutes after workers left the site, an osprey landed in the nest to set up housekeeping.
Experts said generations of osprey used the nest when it was on the Del Rio Bridge on U.S. Highway 20 east of St. Anthony. The truss-through-steel bridge is being replaced with a modern concrete span next summer.
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Information from: Idaho State Journal, http://www.journalnet.com
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