Calgary

Osprey builds nest on $500K Bloom sculpture on St. Patrick's Island

A bird of prey has made itself comfortable more than 20 metres above ground on Bloom — the metal street light sculpture in St. Patrick's Island.

Bird of prey has eye for Calgary public art

An osprey has nested about 20 metres from the ground on top of the Bloom sculpture on Calgary's St. Patrick's Island. (Colin Hall/CBC)

The centrepiece of St. Patrick's Island in Calgary is a giant street light sculpture that looks a bit like an exploding atom.

Bloom is made of metal and is completely exposed to the elements — in other words, it's not very cozy.

But that hasn't deterred a bird of prey from wanting to raise its babies on it.

An osprey has built a nest on the very top of the $500,000 piece of public art.  

  • Do you have any photos of the St. Patrick's Island osprey it its nest on the Bloom sculpture? Send your pictures to [email protected]
Bloom stands 23-metres tall on St. Patrick's Island in Calgary. (Jason Ronald)

"We monitor it; there doesn't seem to be any risk to the birds and there is no risk or impairment cause to the art at all," said Susan Veres, from the Calgary Municipal Land Corporation.

"The only question will be if and when we change a light," she said.

The osprey has made its nest atop of some of the metal street lights in the Bloom sculpture by Montreal-based artist Michel de Broin. (Genevieve Normand/Radio-Canada)

The artist behind BloomMichel de Broin, welcomes the feathered resident. 

'It's beautiful to see a bird taking my sculpture as a nest," he said. "It's great to be appreciated. Especially by animals."

With files from Colin Hall