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Hours late but perfectly timed for Canada Day, the fourth killdeer egg hatched at Bluesfest on Sunday morning at the city’s most-watched bird’s nest.
Festival technical director Scott Pollard said the last egg hatched at about 10:30, a few hours after the other three had fled and the parents had scattered.
He said National Capital Commission staff were immediately notified and, within an hour, a representative from the local wildlife centre was on hand to take the wee “orphan” into care to ensure its wellbeing.
The parents were nearby for the other three hatchings, which occurred at about 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, but the fourth chick stubbornly stayed in its shell. There was some speculation the egg might not be viable but, sure enough, it began to crack open Sunday morning.
“I think it turned out extremely well, for everybody,” said Pollard, of the ever-evolving killdeer drama. He said he had noticed the adult birds were in an especially animated mood Saturday morning and staff wondered whether news was imminent.
Then, at about 3:30 p.m., past the signs announcing concerts by Shawn Mendes and Dave Matthews, staff spotted a killdeer chick motoring around the nest, heading for the shade. Within 90 minutes, two more followed.
NCC biologist Alexander Stone, who has been monitoring things all week, was summoned. He showed up with a camera and a bird scope, and did his best to “herd” the young ones together. (They seemed to be camped out in the shade, under a trailer.)
He said killdeer are ready to move about and eat on their own almost from the instant they break through the shell. He expected the six of them — the male is also present — to disperse within about 24 hours, possibly in the direction of the nearby Ottawa River.
“It’s great to see people come together, just for a killdeer nest,” he said of the joint effort, which involved 24-hour security, a visit by expert bird handler Monica Melichar from Minden, Ont., the staged moving of the nest about 30 metres away and some especially careful work by setup crews.
A new killdeer hatches on the Bluesfest festival grounds on Saturday, June 30, 2018. Marc DesRosiers, Front Page Photography
“Every bird is worth saving,” Stone said. “I’ll miss them once they’re gone.”
In a new release, festival executive director Mark Monahan called it a great ending to an amazing journey.
“We’d like to recognize the efforts of Woodlands Wildlife Sanctuary’s Monica Melichar and NCC biologists Camille Tremblay and Alex Stone. I also applaud the efforts of officials at the National Capital Commission and Environment and Climate Change Canada — we could not have gotten through this without them.”
And now, says Monahan, “The show must go on.”
Protected by the Migratory Bird Act, the pair of killdeer became internationally famous when television networks like CNN began to follow the killdeer and the eggs, which typically take 26 days to hatch.
查看原文...
Festival technical director Scott Pollard said the last egg hatched at about 10:30, a few hours after the other three had fled and the parents had scattered.
He said National Capital Commission staff were immediately notified and, within an hour, a representative from the local wildlife centre was on hand to take the wee “orphan” into care to ensure its wellbeing.
The parents were nearby for the other three hatchings, which occurred at about 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, but the fourth chick stubbornly stayed in its shell. There was some speculation the egg might not be viable but, sure enough, it began to crack open Sunday morning.
“I think it turned out extremely well, for everybody,” said Pollard, of the ever-evolving killdeer drama. He said he had noticed the adult birds were in an especially animated mood Saturday morning and staff wondered whether news was imminent.
Then, at about 3:30 p.m., past the signs announcing concerts by Shawn Mendes and Dave Matthews, staff spotted a killdeer chick motoring around the nest, heading for the shade. Within 90 minutes, two more followed.
NCC biologist Alexander Stone, who has been monitoring things all week, was summoned. He showed up with a camera and a bird scope, and did his best to “herd” the young ones together. (They seemed to be camped out in the shade, under a trailer.)
He said killdeer are ready to move about and eat on their own almost from the instant they break through the shell. He expected the six of them — the male is also present — to disperse within about 24 hours, possibly in the direction of the nearby Ottawa River.
“It’s great to see people come together, just for a killdeer nest,” he said of the joint effort, which involved 24-hour security, a visit by expert bird handler Monica Melichar from Minden, Ont., the staged moving of the nest about 30 metres away and some especially careful work by setup crews.
A new killdeer hatches on the Bluesfest festival grounds on Saturday, June 30, 2018. Marc DesRosiers, Front Page Photography
“Every bird is worth saving,” Stone said. “I’ll miss them once they’re gone.”
In a new release, festival executive director Mark Monahan called it a great ending to an amazing journey.
“We’d like to recognize the efforts of Woodlands Wildlife Sanctuary’s Monica Melichar and NCC biologists Camille Tremblay and Alex Stone. I also applaud the efforts of officials at the National Capital Commission and Environment and Climate Change Canada — we could not have gotten through this without them.”
And now, says Monahan, “The show must go on.”
Protected by the Migratory Bird Act, the pair of killdeer became internationally famous when television networks like CNN began to follow the killdeer and the eggs, which typically take 26 days to hatch.
查看原文...
