It’s been a bad news/good news month for at least two pairs of ospreys that had nests under construction removed, one likely by a homeowner, the other by PSEG Long Island.
Search the East Hampton Town Code for the word “bird” and you won’t find much. The town defers to federal and state laws to safeguard birds. The federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 governs their protection, and New York State laws could not be more lenient.
So, if a complaint is made regarding the destruction or disturbance of birds, the town might collect evidence, but officials simply forward it along to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service or the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. The town claims no enforcement ability regarding birds.
Despite the collaborative relationship, birds are not as protected as you might think or hope. Both recent examples show that citizen action and involvement play a crucial role. In each case, only after outcry were new nesting platforms installed for the birds.
The first nest destroyed this year has history. In 2024, Cindi Crain, whose property includes a dock in Accabonac Harbor, was observed by a neighbor kicking an osprey nest off the dock and into the water. Despite the eyewitness, neither the Fish and Wildlife Service nor the D.E.C. issued a ticket to Ms. Crain.
An investigation by the D.E.C. did not include an interview or statements from the concerned neighbor. The D.E.C. also said that violations are typically issued only if an illegal action is directly witnessed by a conservation officer.
The D.E.C. has 23 such officers in Region 1, which consists of Nassau and Suffolk Counties. Asking them to be direct witnesses to violations means enforcement must be a challenge.
At the end of April this year, the ospreys returned to Ms. Crain’s dock and attempted to rebuild their nest, despite the presence of newly installed bird-deterrent devices. The same neighbor reported the nest to the town, which once again forwarded the information to the D.E.C. and the Fish and Wildlife Service.
At the time, the D.E.C. said, officers “visited the site and while osprey activity was observed, no active nest with eggs was noted. D.E.C. is actively working with the U.S.F.W.S. to continue monitoring the location.”
However, the D.E.C. would not answer what sort of monitoring was occurring, or if, for example, a trail camera had been placed there. Perhaps predictably, sometime between May 6 and May 9, according to photographs taken by the East Hampton Town Natural Resources Department, the new nest was removed. It’s not clear by whom.
After the removal, the D.E.C. issued another statement.
“D.E.C. Environmental Conservation Police Officers (E.C.O.s) continue to monitor the site. E.C.O.s and the U.S.F.W.S. did not observe an active nest when visiting the site on May 12, 2025. An active nest is a nest with eggs, chicks, or young birds that are still dependent on the nest for survival.”
Of course. Because how can a nest be active after it has been removed? The sad fact is that birds need a stable nest before they lay eggs. The ospreys, and in fact all birds, it seems, find themselves caught in a deadly catch-22. Their nests are protected if they contain eggs, but they can’t lay eggs if they don’t have a nest.
“Osprey activity at this location is not conducive to a successful nesting and breeding cycle,” the D.E.C. said. “If a nest is ultimately established and has eggs in it, the homeowner would be required to apply to the U.S.F.W.S. for a depredation permit to remove this nest. The U.S.F.W.S. has contacted the homeowner’s representatives to ensure compliance with all applicable laws protecting migratory birds should the nest be deemed active.”
There is a happy ending. On May 21, the town’s Natural Resources Department, with help from Andy Gaites of the Land Acquisition Department, erected an osprey pole on town property next to Ms. Crain’s dock. On Tuesday, the birds were observed on the new platform and appeared to be arranging a new nest.
The story of the second nest has become more common, as ospreys have continued their 50-year population rebound on the East End.
April Gornik, an artist who walks from North Haven to Sag Harbor Village daily, noticed a new osprey nest under construction on May 3 just five utility poles down from a well-established nesting site at the Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter Memorial Bridge. “I was thinking it may have been the juvenile ospreys from the nest on the bridge,” she said.
The new nest was removed by PSEG the following day, however, and a pole-top guard was installed to deter further efforts by the birds.
“To avoid interfering with the birds’ life cycle,” Jeremy Walsh, a spokesman for the utility, said in an email, the majority of this type of work takes place during the off-season when ospreys are not building nests or raising chicks.”
“Occasionally, nest-building activity is observed on a utility pole during nesting season,” he continued. “In these cases, for the safety of the birds and to ensure system reliability, PSEG Long Island will observe the nest, ensure no eggs or chicks are present, and then obtain permission from the D.E.C. to remove the nest before any eggs are laid.”
The North Haven pole services over 2,000 customers, he added.
But the ospreys immediately returned and tried to rebuild on top of the guard. Again, a PSEG crew showed up to remove the nest, leaving its remnants scattered on the ground under the pole.
“It was completely callous the way their nest was torn down and strewn on the ground,” Ms. Gornik said. Incensed, she placed repeated calls to both the D.E.C. and PSEG. “They said the ospreys could get electrocuted. The first person I spoke to at PSEG said they were relocated. How do you relocate an osprey? With what we pay for electricity out here, it seems outrageous they just ripped it down. I asked them why they can’t just put a platform up above.”
Her persistence paid off. A few days after the nest was removed, PSEG relented and installed a pole extender above the problematic electrical equipment.
Ospreys have had a wonderful and quite visible comeback since being placed on the endangered species list in 1976. Steve Biasetti, the director of environmental education for the Group for the East End, who runs its Osprey Nest Monitoring Project, said that in 2022 the project had identified more than 600 potential osprey nesting sites in the five East End towns.
The group intends to monitor the population every three years, meaning this year they will catalog the nesting sites again. He expects to see further growth, and predicts that perhaps 650 sites will be counted this year.
While that’s great news for ospreys, arguably the most visible bird on the East End, one can’t help but wonder how many other, less visible birds have their nests, with eggs in them, destroyed by landscapers or builders because of negligence or ignorance.
Odds are we’ll never know, and neither will the D.E.C.’s 23 environmental officers tasked with the birds’ protection.