Ospreys prefer a nest with a view and over half of Iowa’s osprey nests end up on cell phone towers, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR). While ospreys don’t usually cause any damage, conflicts can arise when tower climbers need to access the tower during the nesting season.
According to the Iowa DNR, nests may be built at varying heights upon any structure, natural or man-made, that provides a platform. Ospreys occasionally nest on or near the ground or upon buoys over water. Nests are usually one foot deep, four to five feet wide, made of sticks and lined with grass. Visibility is important to the raptors in nest-site selection; osprey nests provide a commanding view of surroundings. They are usually located on prominent landforms, peninsulas or islands with few, or preferably no, tree branches higher than the nest.
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