Ospreys return to Bath roadside 2 years after CMP removes nest, erects platform

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 12, 2026

In spring 2024, Bath birders were disturbed to learn that Central Maine Power removed a long-established osprey nest from atop a utility pole off Route 1, installing bright yellow spikes to prevent future nesting. Though the utility company erected a nesting platform as a safer alternative for the raptors to build a home, years passed without any little heads poking out of nests high above the highway. That was, until this April, when birder and osprey advocate Joanne Adams spotted a breeding pair getting to work on their new home. Then she didn’t see them for several weeks, and feared they’d left — until she noticed four birds in the nest in June. “Suddenly, they had two chicks,” said Adams.