WAYZATA, Minn. — In real estate, the saying goes: location, location, location. A pair of ospreys nesting above Highway 12 in Wayzata apparently agrees — and no amount of orange cones was going to change their minds.
The birds have built a nest on a green road sign structure along Hwy. 12, a spot MnDOT had planned to remove and replace as part of ongoing road construction. The agency worked with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources in March to secure a permit. The department said it carefully removed the nest after confirming no eggs or baby birds were present.
MnDOT ordinarily leaves nesting birds on MnDOT structures unless they pose a safety hazard. In this case, the agency had planned to remove and replace the green road sign on the structure where the ospreys were nesting, which triggered the permitting process with the DNR…