A happy homecoming for a pair of osprey forced from a familiar North Saanich nesting spot

The utility stepped in and built special nesting platforms that the osprey then turned to raise their chicks.

This year, an unpleasant surprise awaited them on arrival. A gaggle of Canada geese had moved in and taken over their usual spot.

Photo/Terry Venables – Natural Images Canada via BC Hydro 

Undaunted but suddenly homeless, the pair of osprey returned to their old ways and started building a new nest on a nearby BC Hydro power pole.

The utility says that the new nest was only discovered when crews went to re-energize the power line for the farm’s irrigation needs.

Nests on power poles can cause outages and fires, so a plan was then hatched to relocate it and a crew of 6 BC Hydro staff was called in.

Photo/Terry Venables – Natural Images Canada via BC Hydro 

The solution turned out to be an easy one since the geese had since left the nesting platform.

It was determined there were no eggs in the osprey nest and so the move was on.

“The crew pushed grounding rods underneath the nest and piggy-back clamps created a cradle to provide the support needed to keep the nest in one piece during the life and move down to the ground,” reads a BC Hydro post.

Photo/Terry Venables – Natural Images Canada via BC Hydro 

The nest was successfully moved back to the platform, and the wait was on to see if the osprey would return as well.

Bird enthusiast Terry Venables wrote about the whole affair on his blog, Natural Images Canada.