I-91 Nesting Platforms
By Gary Moore
Driving up and down I-91 this summer you may have noticed nesting platforms near transmission line crossings.
Two got my attention. One is in the median close to the Bradford/Fairlee line. The other is off the side of the northbound lanes near the Thetford/Norwich line. They have both been occupied most days this summer.
I know the power companies have erected platforms all along both sides of the Connecticut from the Massachusetts border to Pittsburg. Far too many birds like to build nests on the poles that carry the transmission lines and that can prove deadly to them and cause power interruptions.
Wondering about the two I mentioned, I contacted Vermont Fish and Wildlife Wildlife Biologist John Gobeille. He replied, “Yes, there are several along the Connecticut River, from Brattleboro to Wilder Dam, more so along Route 5 than I-91. Ospreys are ‘big water’ birds so the Connecticut River is the attractant for them. Route 5 is also closer to the Connecticut River than I-91.
“VELCO and GMP have been putting them up as they encounter ospreys trying to nest on their transmission poles. We were much more involved with the utility companies in the installation of these nest platforms from the 1990s to around 2015. We were training them on how to do it as well as the legal issues around raptor management with the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Now most of them have their own federal permits and are doing the work largely without us but we still get requests from them occasionally for technical assistance. Thanks for asking.”
Mixed Results For Loon Counts In Twin States
Loons, those symbols of the north had mixed results nesting this summer in Vermont and New Hampshire.
Vermont Center for Ecostudies reports that during their statewide Vermont one-day loon count on July 19, volunteers counted 416 adults and 104 chicks on 171 bodies of water. They describe the count as, “a BIG record high!”
This season, 115 nests were documented, three of which were new loon pairs. According to the report, 92 of those nests were successful, a record high. The 136 chicks hatched was also a record.
The news was not so good east of the Connecticut River in New Hampshire. According to the preliminary results of the 2025 New Hampshire Loon Census, numbers are down statewide. While the total number of loons appears strong at 541, with an additional 109 loon chicks, which is a decrease from prior years.