Federally protected birds force Minnesota high school football team to rearrange schedule

Move over Eagles, another raptor is taking over the gridiron.

Ospreys who chose to raise their chicks in a nest on top of a light pole at a high school football stadium inMinnesotanow have the whole field to themselves.

Ospreys are a federally and state protected species, and because of their nesting location, the Apple Valley High School Eaglesfootballteam must rearrange their schedule.

“When you tell someone this story of ‘Wow, we have to reschedule because there’s an osprey nest in our stadium,’ they’re like, ‘You can’t make this type of stuff up, right?’” Cory Hanson, athletic director at the school, whose mascot is the Eagles, told The Associated Press.

The Eagles must now play all of their home games during the day because turning on the floodlights where thebirdshave their nest could hurt them.

Heidi Cyr, of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, said the school can remove the nest once the osprey chicks are able to fly away, which shouldn’t take too long.

“Luckily for Apple Valley, they should be able to remove the nest within probably a week because the birds have already taken some of their first flights,” Cyr explained.

The school, which became aware of the nest in June, has been sending a drone up every few days to check on the chicks’ progress.

School officials plan to relocate the nest to another platform on school grounds and build deterrents on the stadium lights once the chicks leave, hoping the ospreys will return next year.

“So if anyone sees that happening, don’t worry,” Cyr said. “The birds are safe. They’ve successfully left the nest, and they’re on their way to becoming adults themselves.”

Ospreys are a large bird of prey with a wingspan of up to six feet, and they like to build nests I high places with clear views.

“When you see these large birds flying across your field with these humongous sticks, you start to ask questions like, ‘What is going on here?’” Hanson said. “And you take one look at that nest, right? And you’re like, ‘OK, this is not your average bird.’”

He said that other schools have been helpful in finding alternate locations and times for games.

The department sometimes issues nest removal permits when ospreys make nests on critical infrastructure like utility poles and cellphone tower, but they are usually denied if chicks remain.

Ospreys were removed from the Minnesota species of special concern list in 2015 following efforts to rebuild their population.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.