UPPER FAIRFIELD TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- A few of PPL's linemen volunteered their time Wednesday to help create a safe place for birds to nest in Lycoming County.
This project will help ospreys while potentially preventing power outages for PPL customers.
The team from PPL was off the clock, but they were still working, volunteering their time and equipment to maneuver a 60-foot pole into place just outside of Montoursville.
PPL and staff members from Lycoming College have teamed up to erect a platform for osprey.
Osprey are birds that live near the Loyalsock Creek and eat fish.
"Osprey were in a declining fashion back in the '70s where they were almost extinct from the states, and they are gradually making a comeback. This is one way PPL promotes the birds," said PPL environmental specialist Eric Beaver.
This platform is also a way to deter the bird of prey from nesting on top of PPL's large utility poles.
"Osprey don't like a backdrop. They want to be the highest thing around so they can see the highest thing around them," Beaver explained. "It keeps them off of our structures, our towers, which creates better reliability for the customers and a safer place for the birds."
This platform is just one of seven in PPL's coverage area.
Mel Zimmerman from Lycoming College sees it as an opportunity to study the birds.
"We're hoping to encourage these birds of prey to nest in this area and become a part of the ecosystem," Zimmerman said.
Now that the platform is up, all that's left to do is wait to see if an osprey or another type of bird will make a nest and call the place home.