Geese took over a Lake Country osprey nest so B.C. Hydro built a new one

Following a battle between two Canada geese and an osprey after the geese took over its nest in Lake Country, B.C. Hydro stepped in and now all the birds happy.

In April, Lake Country resident Judy Marsh said a pair of Canada geese took over a popular osprey nesting site along Highway 97 near Rawsthorne Road for the second year and she captured video of the osprey dive-bombing the geese.

Last year, the osprey was able to reclaim its turf but this year it wasn’t so lucky. She reported geese were still in the nest as of May 13.

READ MORE: Canada geese squatters dive bombed by osprey returning to nest

Dag Sharman with B.C. Hydro said in an emailed statement last year the geese were out of the nest by May 11 so the osprey moved back in.

This year, the geese took over the nest around April 5 before the osprey returned.

By mid-April, B.C. Hydro employees were taking the steps to build a new platform and had a new nest platform constructed and installed April 22, on the west side of the Okanagan Rail Trail about 50 metres north of Owls Nest Road crossing of the rail trail, Sharman said.

“The new nest we built was set in the ground by the power line crew and within five minutes of the truck moving away the ospreys were on the new nest,” he said in the email.

It’s not unheard of to see geese trying to occupy osprey nests. In 2018, B.C. Hydro reported Canada geese had taken over an osprey nest in Saanich.

Year after year, osprey return to their same nests.

B.C. Hydro and FortisB.C. have installed specific nesting platforms for osprey across the province to deter them from nesting on power poles.

Through FortisBC’s livestream, the public can also follow the ospreys’ and watch the three chicks develop and grow at a platform on Benvoulin Road in Kelowna.

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