Missoula Protects Osprey Nest From Canada Goose

Workers in Missoula have made a high-profile osprey nest goose-proof.

The Missoulian reports a metal mesh cone has been placed over the nest to prevent a Canada goose named Clara from setting up housekeeping like she did last year before the osprey couple returned from migration.

University of Montana biologist Erick Greene and Garden City Tree Service owner Dale Beavers attached the metal cone Friday atop the pole near Ogren-Allegiance Park.

Last year, Clara beat the ospreys to the nest and wouldn't leave, successfully raising her own brood. The nest is atop a pole next to the baseball field where a minor league baseball team called the Missoula Osprey play.

The ospreys tried building new nests, but they were blown out of a tree, shooed away from a bank of lights and evicted from a crane and a power pole.

The ospreys eventually ended up nesting atop a 100-kilovolt power line. NorthWestern Energy workers kept the nest trimmed to prevent the birds from being electrocuted.

The osprey couple is expected back in Missoula in the next few weeks, and by then it's believed Clara will have already picked out another nest site.

When the ospreys are spotted, Greene plans to remove the mesh cone over the nest.