Federally protected birds force high school football team to rearrange schedule

Bald eagles Jackie and Shadow recently welcomed a third egg to their nest in the Big Bear Valley region of California. See these rare and stunning moments captured on this video.

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 in Minnesota now 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 Eagles football team 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. 

RARE SIGHTING AS THREATENED BIRD SPECIES LIKELY GOT LOST, ENDING UP 1,000 MILES FROM HOME IN WISCONSIN

An osprey perches on a flagpole near its nest at the Apple Valley High School football stadium on Wednesday.  (AP Photo/Mark Vancleave)

The Eagles must now play all of their home games during the day because turning on the floodlights where the birds have 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. 

The Apple Valley High School