WILLOUGHBY, Ohio– A nesting goose and her mate are keeping postal carriers from delivering mail to an apartment building in Willoughby.

The goose picked an awkward spot to nest: a mulch bed in front of the mailboxes at the Tamarac apartment complex.

Residents trying to pick up their mail said they have been attacked by a male goose standing guard nearby.

Witnesses said the goose also charged at a postal carrier as he was delivering the mail.

“The goose like literally went airborne, like full wing spread and dive-bombed him, like hitting him, so then the mailman jumped in his truck, then the goose was at the door of the truck, would not let the mailman out,” said Cheri Berquist, Willoughby resident.

Research technicians with the Ohio Division of Wildlife said geese are mates for life and the males are extremely protective. “So his job, while she’s incubating the eggs, is to keep all predators out of the area; that can be anything from people to coyote and fox,” Laurie Graber with the Ohio Division of Wildlife told us.

The geese are so aggressive, the residents are being asked to pick up their mail at the business office in the complex until the eggs hatch later this spring.

Geese, their eggs and their nests are protected by the federal government under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, but in some cases, residents or business owners can apply for permits to deal with the nesting geese as a nuisance.

They are now considering a couple of solutions to the problem including the placement of a snow fence between the nest and the mailboxes.

They are hoping that will make the geese feel safer and make them less aggressive.