Empty nests still block bridge demolition
There are no longer signs of the endangered birds nesting at the Jockvale Road site, but they could be back, reports TOM SPEARS.
There are no endangered barn swallows — no birds of any kind — remaining in the nests that stalled construction of the Jockvale Road bridge.
But the demolition and replacement of the old bridge remains delayed until September, in case the birds return.
Bruce Di Labio, one of the pre-eminent birders in Canada, spent 45 minutes at the bridge over the Jock River in Barrhaven Thursday.
There were two nests, but no swallows within hundreds of metres. As well, he’s not convinced the nests were necessarily from barn swallows. They could be robins’ or Eastern phoebes’ nests, he said. It’s hard to identify them when they’re vacant.
Di Labio said it’s impossible to have no sign of life for 45 minutes on a nest of breeding swallows.
There would have to be either an adult sitting on the eggs, or hatched baby birds with “constant activity” of adults bringing them food, he said.
As well, if the babies are hatched they would be making noise, and he didn’t hear any.
Two Citizen reporters and a photographer who went to the site on Wednesday and Thursday also saw no swallows. Swallows are very visible birds because they fly acrobatically, chasing flying insects.
Swallows: ‘Protected’
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A Ministry of Natural Resources spokeswoman said Thursday that it received information in early June from consultants hired by the city and its contractor that “barn swallows were actively defending their nests on-site.”
And that was enough to keep demolition from proceeding.
The MNR spelled out its position in an email:
“Because the nests were actively defended in early June, they are considered habitat, and thus protected. Because the nesting season is from May 1-Aug. 31, the birds may return during this time period as they can lay eggs up to 2-3 times during this period,” it wrote in response to a Citizen question.
It adds: “The Ministry of Natural Resources met with the City of Ottawa, contractors and consultant onsite Wednesday afternoon, and are currently working through options.”
Di Labio said he saw one barn swallow a few hundred metres away, but it was swooping in and out of a culvert that appeared to be its nesting place.
On Tuesday, the MNR said it had notified the city ahead of construction that the bridge looked like potential barn swallow habitat.
The project is budgeted at $23.9 million.
It will replace a single twolane bridge with two parallel spans each carrying two lanes.
One new span is complete, but they can’t build the second until they knock down the old bridge that has nests under it.
City officials said this week they are complying with the ministry’s demolition delay, though other work is continuing on the site.