A turkey vulture perched on a new CMP transmission line tower next to the Sawyer Road in Greene moves slightly when the wind blows. However, it does not ever fly away. In fact, it is not a real bird.

According to Central Maine Power Manager of Public Affairs, John Carroll, there are dozens of these ruses placed on transmission towers throughout the state in areas where birds, mostly osprey, have built their nests.  

After trying to convince the birds of prey to nest elsewhere by building platforms near the towers or erecting PVC piping on the towers to make it nearly impossible to construct a nest, they often keep coming back and rebuilding.  

“They can be really persistent,” Carroll said. “While the power lines do present a hazard to the birds as they can be killed, it does not happen very often. The biggest issue is that large sticks used to build their nests often fall on the lines and create massive power outages that can leave thousands of people without electricity.”

While there are numerous ways to deter the birds from nesting on the towers, these fake birds are just one more tool in their toolkit, Carroll said. 

It’s been a year since these foam-filled featherless birds have landed and, so far, the osprey have not caught on yet. Time will tell if the turkey vultures weather the storms and keep up their deception.