Birds Nesting in Unusual Locations: Pigeons, Geese, and Ospreys

Pigeon in a Colander

• 🐦 In a New York City apartment in 2017, a pigeon decided to nest inside a kitchen colander.
• 💡 The resident, Genevie Roman, found animal control unhelpful, with one representative joking it would be different if it were a falcon.

Geese Nesting at a Hospital

• 🦢 A pair of wild geese nested in an empty flower pot outside the emergency room and maternity ward of a Nebraska hospital in 2017.
• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 The geese, named Alice and Ralph, successfully hatched six goslings, though the nest eventually became too cramped.
• 🚧 The hospital staff had to help manage people's access to their cars to avoid disturbing the nesting geese.

Bird on a Football Field

• 🏈 In 2023, a mama bird laid her eggs on the 25-yard line of a Huntington Beach, California high school football field.
• 📜 Students viewed the bird's presence as a good omen or a lucky sign for the school.
• 🚫 Due to federal law protecting the mother and eggs, all field activities were suspended until the birds left.
• 🚧 Initially, track hurdles were used to protect the nest, which grew from three to four eggs.

Ospreys on a Football Field Tower

• 🦅 In August 2025, a pair of ospreys built a nest on a light tower at Apple Valley High School in Minnesota.
• ⚠️ The ospreys' protected status meant the school could not turn on the field lights, as the heat would harm the birds and create a fire hazard.
• 🗓️ Consequently, the school had to reschedule football games to be played only during the day.