If you squint, you can make out a Canada goose in the osprey nest on the Albany railroad bridge on the Willamette River.
This is not the first time this has happened, but once again the big nest that generations of ospreys built on the Albany railroad bridge has been taken over by a pair of Canada geese.
Gordon Steffensmeier called my attention to this avian outrage last week. And on a bike ride along the riverfront Tuesday, I saw one of the squatters myself.
If you check the Internet, you’ll find several references to geese taking over nests built by ospreys. Sometimes the little fish-eating raptors are incensed enough about this form of theft that they try to dislodge the geese.
According to Steffensmeier, this is what happened here, on the Willamette River railroad bridge.
A slightly closer look at one of the interlopers as seen Tuesday from the Dave Clark Riverfront Path.
The department of forrestry biologists shooting barred owls to try to save spotted owls need to take this up. How dare we sit idly by while Canadian tourists displace a multi generation hard working local family.
More than likely the unwanted visitors will be given licenses and public funds to maintain their new abode.
Great picture and story, Hasso.
Awesome story! The geese find themselves in a number of my photographs; they’re an anchor of familiarity.
This happened at the same spot last year. The osprey ended up building a ramshackle nest on the north side of the bridge that was a pathetic sight to see. Neither goose nor osprey ended up with chicks on the nest. What can the geese be thinking? Would their chicks survive fledging from that height? Some waterfowl do (wood ducks, for instance) but not Canada geese to my knowledge. Oh, those wacky birds!
The geese won because they ‘honked’ first. They had the right of way!
Fledging from that height, or any other for that matter, is relatively simple – nudge them out! Cruel? maybe, but those little fluffs seem to waft to the water and land with legs and webbed feet paddling and away they go.
The nest doesn’t even have to be over water and the parents don’t “nudge” them out. They are usually on the ground calling to them “It’s time!”
Do a search for Decorah eagle nest and see where geese took over unused eagle nest. It is live streamed so you can watch the jump in real time. This nest isn’t right over the water so the goslings jump about 70 feet to hard ground. Last year 4 out of 5 goslings survived the jump.
Make that Decorah Goose Cam. The nest got it’s own channel for streaming last week.
I miss the ospreys. They were so much more interesting than the geese.
That old goose is looking proud of his new home!
Great story!
Hasso’s apologue can easily be understood metaphorically, his inter-species nest-snatching narrative alluding to the history of the Europeanization of North America.
The osprey are the analogue for those peoples who lived on the continent before the arrival of the brutish British or the vulgar Spanish – the bullying geese boorishly thrashing about.
For centuries, the osprey had built their “nests” in locations most suitable for osprey survival. Then, along came the geese invasion. The loutish honkers used their galleons, guns and small pox to boot the osprey from long established nests, The geese claimed they were doing god’s work. The large Nest Grab was Manifest Destiny.
After great slaughter of osprey men, women and children, the geese settled-in to their new, conquered nests, smug in their self-righteousness.
We would like to thank Hasso for providing us with this marvelous metaphorical tale.
Even if you ignore the metaphor, Hering’s base tale depicts the brutality of one species on another. However, Hasso’s parable begs for deeper consideration in order to grasp his intended (perhaps unintended) intention.
Thank you, Hasso.
Okay, boomer…
Hartman….right on, brother.
Geese possess inherent advantages in an animal kingdom characterized by inequality and injustice.
Some call it nature’s way. But let’s be real – this is Goose privilege. An unfair advantage granted solely on the basis of their Gooseness.
You never read “Animal Farm”
The geese really aren’t as privileged as y’all think… The ospreys are a bit downstream waiting for hatch day and the delicious snacks soon to be coming their way… karma!
Osprey are not little eagles.
That’s what happens when you let a bunch of undocumented aliens in, they occupy vacant houses and become squatters. HAHA Pa dum Tssss!