cant have to many cell phone towers

i think it is a osprey, we have also seen bald eagles this week

Ironically, there is no cell antennas in that photo. The round dish is point to point (it is aimed directly to the next antenna) often used to carry "land line" or internet traffic. The other white stick type antennas could be systems like tow truck dispatch, police dispatch or motorola style radios.

As for too many cell towers. The average length between cell towers is only 4-6 miles. There are millions of them.

You may think, "how 4-6 miles, one radio station antenna covers the whole metro area?"
The real limitation of the cell system is the handset. How much broadcast power do you want to put to your head?
That is also why the old "truly installed" car phones broadcasted further.

JohnRW1621 wrote: That is also why the old "truly installed" car phones broadcasted further.

My first cell phone would burn my ear if I used it for more than five minutes.

It also cost close to a buck a minute.

Knurled wrote:

JohnRW1621 wrote: That is also why the old "truly installed" car phones broadcasted further.

My first cell phone would burn my ear if I used it for more than five minutes. It also cost close to a buck a minute.

And it had ONE LINE of LCD readout.

I can't see the picture... which might explain why I think it's funny that the OP mentioned a bird and everyone else responded by talking about microwave dishes, cell phone operation, and mobile infrastructure.

i wonder why you cannot see the pic, i was also surprised that the thread viered off in that direction......

I guess I initiated the "the veer".
A title of cell towers and too many. Perhaps I went too literal.

It is an Osprey. They like tall platforms for nesting.

I find this very ironic because when you site a new cell tower, you have to do a NEPA study. One of the concerns is its potential impact to endangered species and bird strikes. Apparently this bird didn't get the memo.

it got the memo.. I found it to be the perfect place to site a new home.

Ospreys will return to the same nest year after year.. they get quite large. They are also very protective. I remember reading about how the Coast Guard will drop a secondary buoy if a marker with an osprey nest goes dark. They will come back and fix it -after- the birds are done raising the chicks

Apparently, humans aren't the only species that demands good cell coverage.

spitfirebill wrote: I find this very ironic because when you site a new cell tower, you have to do a NEPA study. One of the concerns is its potential impact to endangered species and bird strikes. Apparently this bird didn't get the memo.

A range I use for work (shoots small-medium caliber rounds) almost had to shut down operations because a bald eagle was nesting on their roof. Apparently, even though the eagle thought it was ok to nest there with the noise, the environmental restrictions wouldn't let them keep shooting once a nest was in place.

One of the places we used to autocross had a few tall, gang-type light fixtures down the middle of the lot. One near the middle had a huge osprey nest on it. The adult ospreys would take turns glaring down at us, and occasionally swooping at the corner workers, while the other fished.

I can vouch for nesting ospreys getting cranky if you get too close. They will usually warn you.

Usually.

That is one of the few times I've brought a canoe up to plane using only my own power.