An osprey can be seen dive-bombing Canada geese at its nest site in Lake Country, April 16, 2021.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Judy Marsh
April 16, 2021 - 4:00 PM
An osprey returning to its Lake Country nest for the season was not impressed to see a few Canada geese occupying its space.
Lake Country resident Judy Marsh said the Canada geese also took over the popular osprey nest site last year next to Highway 97, but the osprey managed to reclaim its turf.
This year, she captured footage of the osprey dive bombing the larger, unruly birds.
“I checked this morning and the geese were still in the nest, so I was out on the patio and hot damn there they are, so I took a video of it and took some pictures with my own camera," Marsh said.
The video was taken April 16, at roughly 1:45 p.m.
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 polls for nesting across the province to deter osprey from nesting on power poles.
According to a report from The Raptor Research Foundation, an international scientific society revolving around raptor conservation, Canada geese have been reported using osprey nests and artificial platforms constructed for ospreys in many areas, although reports of interactions at nest sites between the two species are few.
"Effects of nest site competition on reproduction by both species appear to be minimal," the report said.
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