Airport fights nature park plan
Aéroports de Montréal is contesting the city’s plan to enlarge the Technoparc nature park which is a refuge for so many bird species.
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Nicholas 17:39 on 2025-02-06 Permalink
That’s a huge area, including all the golf course and more. Sadly the map doesn’t list the specific sections (ADM says they oppose four of them being rezoned to a nature preserve, but can commit to preserving two of them). Bird strikes are a real issue (likely caused that recent South Korean crash), but they are rare, but I’m not sure if a sanctuary intended to attract birds is a good idea.
Su 17:51 on 2025-02-06 Permalink
The birds are allready there. The plan will officially protect the area.
Blork 19:18 on 2025-02-06 Permalink
I had the same question about bird strikes. Not a serious problem if the birds being protected are small, like cardinals and sparrows and whatnot. But the first photo in the story shows wild turkeys. Wild turkeys don’t fly much, and only in short bursts, so I don’t know if that’s much of a problem. Geese (and even ducks) can definitely be a hazard.
Meezly 10:58 on 2025-02-07 Permalink
Trudeau airport apparently has falconers to keep problem birds away. In fact, they have a wildlife management dept/team that helps prevent bird strikes. I’m thinking these folks may have one of the more interesting jobs at an airport.
Kate 13:13 on 2025-02-07 Permalink
Meezly, those folks also might have interesting opinions on the nature park story. If I were an editor, I’d send a journalist to interview one or more of them, although it’s also possible they would be forbidden to talk to the media.
Ian 15:42 on 2025-02-07 Permalink
It’s interesting that they have falconers as prey birds also attract hawks. I wonder if the falcons ever get into it with other predatory birds
Blork 16:42 on 2025-02-07 Permalink
What’s a falcon going to do against a flock of geese?
Orr 14:51 on 2025-02-08 Permalink
Hidden in the (gazette version of the story) news story is their plan for a “decarbonization support centre” which, like most decarbonization projects by big polluters, is a clear sign the pollution is going to continue.
Mr Jim A Harris 07:46 on 2025-02-09 Permalink
The area is currently its smallest ever in terms of land that will support bird life. Going back to the seventies and earlier there would have been way more avian wildlife in the area because it was largely undeveloped. There are zero reports of avian collisions over this period of time so why would it be more of a problem now when there is much less available land for the birds to use? Officially recognizing the area as a nature park does not suddenly make it larger than it is today. We need an independent assessment of the risks and keep in mind that roughly 80% of all airplane crashes are attributed to pilot error.