Environment Canada asked to investigate nest removals
Environment Canada was called to investigate after a City of Windsor worker destroyed a colony of birds that had taken up residence outside the WFCU Centre. Claude Radley with the Holiday Beach Migration Observatory, said there were 10 barn swallow nests on the front of the main Windsor Spitfires Arena. He called Environment Canada on Wednesday after learning they had been removed. “Swallows are on the speciesat-risk list from Environment Canada,” Radley, who administers the bird banding program for the observatory, said Thursday. “So I monitor a number of colonies around the area, and discovered ( Wednesday) morning that particular colony had been destroyed.” Radley said that after he realized the nests at the WFCU Centre had been destroyed, he started asking around and learned a city worker was responsible.
Tom Graziano, senior manager of city facilities, said a city worker removed the nests for patron safety because they were close to the building entrance. Graziano said the birds “would pester or disturb patrons” as they entered and exited.
“One of our staff removed them in response to the disturbance they were causing, unknowing they were protected under migratory bird regulations,” said Graziano “We have been in touch with Environment Canada and we are still gathering information at this point,” city spokesman Jason Moore said Thursday. Environment Canada could not be reached for comment. Radley said he was told the city worker was not aware of the regulations and did not know the nests were occupied. Radley, who keeps a regular watch on the nests, said he doesn’t buy that. He last saw the nests on Monday.
“The birds were sitting in them on eggs,” said Radley. He called the incident “upsetting.”
“It’s against the law, for one thing,” he said. “The concern is that these birds are a species at risk. Their populations are declining. We need as many colonies as we can to survive.” According to the provincial government, which considers the birds a “threatened” species, the number of barn swallows in Ontario decreased by 65 per cent between 1966 and 2009. Ontario even launched a barn swallow recovery program a few years ago. Considered medium-sized songbirds, barn swallows grow to between 15 centimetres and 18 centimetres long.
They have blue feathers on top with off-white on the bottom and a distinctive forked tail. Under Canada’s Migratory Birds Convention Act, the fine for unlawfully destroying a migratory bird’s nest is $150, plus $50 per egg. “I don’t think the fines are sufficient,” said Radley. “An organization like the city, that’s a drop in the bucket to them.”