A city mostly known for auto factories hardly seems like a great spot to even see endangered wildlife, let alone for it to thrive. Yet that's exactly what's happening in one Canadian city this summer.
Although home to a university, state-of-the-art arena and numerous downtown cafes and bistros, Oshawa has had a hard time shaking off its reputation. When most think of the city of 150 000 (located about 30 miles east of Toronto), they typically think of a downtrodden blue-collar space filled with sprawling car plants and railyards, smoky poolhalls and empty downtown storefronts. They typically don't think of it as a spot where rare birds are making a comeback. Making this year's success of two endangered species there all the more surprising- and making us rethink many of our stereotypes.
First off, a few blocks from the downtown, overlooking Parkwood Estates used for filming movies like Amelia and The Ref, is the tower of Lakeridge Health's main hospital. And there atop the 100-foot tall building, a pair of Peregrine Falcons ( including one nicknamed “Salveo”, Latin for “good health” which was born on the same roof) nested for the third year in a row. At least two of the powerful birds of prey have been reared to maturity there in recent years.
The story of the falcon is well-known and one of the most encouraging examples of humans reversing environmental damage and restoring a natural balance. The large hawk-like bird is famous for being the fastest animal on the planet. Diving at prey it may have seen from two miles away, it can hit Nascar-like speeds of 200MPH. Even flying level to the ground it can top 60MPH. Unfortunately, the only thing they couldn't dash away from was pesticide poisoning. As with many other large birds, DDT built up in them half a century or so back until few were able to lay fertile eggs, let alone hatch them. By the mid-20th Century, the birds were eliminated from eastern North America and reduced by as much as 90% in the west and overseas (it's one of only a few birds which are found on every continent except Antarctica). It seemed likely that the awe-inspiring sight of one of the feathered jets speeding through the air to catch a hapless dove would soon be relegated to legend and dusty books , rather like the once-huge, sun-blocking flocks of Passenger Pigeons made extinct a few decades earlier. A similar fate seemed likely for America's symbol, the Bald Eagle, as well. It was disappearing as rapidly as the falcons.
But then the story took a happy and unexpected twist. By 1972, DDT was banned in North America due to concern over the fate of the hawks and eagles, not to mention worries about our own health (studies show it as a suspected carcinogen as well as link it to reduced testosterone levels in men.) The birds started to come back, slowly. One by one, pairs were found being able to raise healthy young, but it was a long road back and science gave Mother Nature a helping hand.
Using largely captive falcons kept by falconers, young were bred in captivity, banded then released to areas formerly inhabited by their wild cousins. In the case of falcons, this was largely remote areas with sheer cliffs they favor for nesting on. Enter a second surprise.
Somewhere along the line, some falcons noticed that big cities were a lot like the places they used to inhabit. Skyscrapers and water towers offered narrow ledges and great views like mountain cliffs and usually brought with them the promise of an abundant food supply nearby. Pigeons.
Peregrines are a bird-eater. In the natural environment, they feed mainly on mid-sized prey like doves, Blue jays and small ducks. Pigeons offer a highly acceptable alternative meal! After researchers began seeing more and more falcons setting up house on apartment and office window ledges in large cities such as Chicago, they began releasing more and more captive-bred ones in other cities. Birders rejoiced and even casual observers thrilled to the sight of the speedy aerial hunters. Few complained if there was a resultant drop in urban pigeon numbers.
Today the Peregrine Falcon is off the “endangered” list in Ontario, although with about 86 pairs in the province, it's not entirely out of the woods and is still a “species of special concern.” The Oshawa pair join several others that have nested in downtown Toronto and Hamilton for years.
Even more surprising is the return of the Piping Plover to the city's shoreline. The docile robin-sized shorebird is similar to many sandpipers tourists often see running along the beaches of tropical destinations. They dash in and out of the shallow water to find small aquatic bugs and crayfish to eat. At one time they could be found along the shores of the Atlantic coast, the Great Lakes and many Prairie potholes but around the time the falcon and eagle populations began to plummet last century, so too did the numbers of the plovers. By 1985, it was endangered in Ontario and elsewhere. Same story, different cause.
Like the hawks, the birds decline was man-made. Unlike the hawks though, it wasn't unintentional pesticide-poisoning killing them off but human disturbance. The little birds had the misfortune of liking the same beaches people do. What shorelines weren't eliminated through development were increasingly subject to flooding due to boat wakes washing onshore or being used as playgrounds for people and their dogs. The nests were washed out by waves, trodden on by beach-goers or if the eggs managed to survive , the babies all too often became a snack for pet dogs or feral cats. By the '80s they'd all but disappeared from all of the Great Lakes and all 90 or so pairs that had used the Ontario beaches only a decade or two earlier had gone. Between 1977 and 2007, none were known to have nested anywhere in the province.
Scientists began collecting some of the few remaining plovers in upper Michigan and breeding them in safe conditions, then releasing the fledged young to areas they historically lived in with hopes they'd return and set up house on their own. The program worked and in 2007, a pair nested near Sauble Beach on Lake Huron.
A handful more pairs began living on Ontario's Huron shoreline in subsequent years but this summer, a real surprise. First one pair, then a second, took up residence on the beaches of Darlington Provincial Park. The 500-acre campsite sits on the lakeshore of Oshawa's eastern boundary, only a stone's throw from the national headquarters of GM. By June 6, two nests were being sat upon. The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and the park fenced off the nest sites, recruited volunteers to watch over the special guests and chase away marauding gulls or dogs. The program was a success; both nests reared babies and by late July crowds could see as many as ten of the little birds running along the beach. Usual park crowds of campers and swimmers were joined by hundreds of birders from all around who came to see the first Piping Plovers born in the greater Toronto area for over 80 years.
Although there are now about 50 nesting pairs on the Great Lakes and a total global population of about 8000 of the birds, they remain endangered and according to Cornell University, “internationally threatened.” The Oshawa birds departed for warmer shorelines by the end of August (most spend their winters along the Gulf of Mexico or the Florida Atlantic coast), it's hoped they'll return to Darlington and perhaps other nearby beaches next year.
We, as a species, do massive damage to the environment and to many of its co-inhabitants. But the news isn't always bad, and at times it's worth noting that we can give it a helping hand. This year's Peregrines and Plovers in Oshawa, that blue-collar Chevy factory town, show that sometimes that happens right in our midst.
Piping Plover photo courtesy Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources
Although home to a university, state-of-the-art arena and numerous downtown cafes and bistros, Oshawa has had a hard time shaking off its reputation. When most think of the city of 150 000 (located about 30 miles east of Toronto), they typically think of a downtrodden blue-collar space filled with sprawling car plants and railyards, smoky poolhalls and empty downtown storefronts. They typically don't think of it as a spot where rare birds are making a comeback. Making this year's success of two endangered species there all the more surprising- and making us rethink many of our stereotypes.
First off, a few blocks from the downtown, overlooking Parkwood Estates used for filming movies like Amelia and The Ref, is the tower of Lakeridge Health's main hospital. And there atop the 100-foot tall building, a pair of Peregrine Falcons ( including one nicknamed “Salveo”, Latin for “good health” which was born on the same roof) nested for the third year in a row. At least two of the powerful birds of prey have been reared to maturity there in recent years.
The story of the falcon is well-known and one of the most encouraging examples of humans reversing environmental damage and restoring a natural balance. The large hawk-like bird is famous for being the fastest animal on the planet. Diving at prey it may have seen from two miles away, it can hit Nascar-like speeds of 200MPH. Even flying level to the ground it can top 60MPH. Unfortunately, the only thing they couldn't dash away from was pesticide poisoning. As with many other large birds, DDT built up in them half a century or so back until few were able to lay fertile eggs, let alone hatch them. By the mid-20th Century, the birds were eliminated from eastern North America and reduced by as much as 90% in the west and overseas (it's one of only a few birds which are found on every continent except Antarctica). It seemed likely that the awe-inspiring sight of one of the feathered jets speeding through the air to catch a hapless dove would soon be relegated to legend and dusty books , rather like the once-huge, sun-blocking flocks of Passenger Pigeons made extinct a few decades earlier. A similar fate seemed likely for America's symbol, the Bald Eagle, as well. It was disappearing as rapidly as the falcons.
But then the story took a happy and unexpected twist. By 1972, DDT was banned in North America due to concern over the fate of the hawks and eagles, not to mention worries about our own health (studies show it as a suspected carcinogen as well as link it to reduced testosterone levels in men.) The birds started to come back, slowly. One by one, pairs were found being able to raise healthy young, but it was a long road back and science gave Mother Nature a helping hand.
Using largely captive falcons kept by falconers, young were bred in captivity, banded then released to areas formerly inhabited by their wild cousins. In the case of falcons, this was largely remote areas with sheer cliffs they favor for nesting on. Enter a second surprise.
Somewhere along the line, some falcons noticed that big cities were a lot like the places they used to inhabit. Skyscrapers and water towers offered narrow ledges and great views like mountain cliffs and usually brought with them the promise of an abundant food supply nearby. Pigeons.
Peregrines are a bird-eater. In the natural environment, they feed mainly on mid-sized prey like doves, Blue jays and small ducks. Pigeons offer a highly acceptable alternative meal! After researchers began seeing more and more falcons setting up house on apartment and office window ledges in large cities such as Chicago, they began releasing more and more captive-bred ones in other cities. Birders rejoiced and even casual observers thrilled to the sight of the speedy aerial hunters. Few complained if there was a resultant drop in urban pigeon numbers.
Today the Peregrine Falcon is off the “endangered” list in Ontario, although with about 86 pairs in the province, it's not entirely out of the woods and is still a “species of special concern.” The Oshawa pair join several others that have nested in downtown Toronto and Hamilton for years.
Even more surprising is the return of the Piping Plover to the city's shoreline. The docile robin-sized shorebird is similar to many sandpipers tourists often see running along the beaches of tropical destinations. They dash in and out of the shallow water to find small aquatic bugs and crayfish to eat. At one time they could be found along the shores of the Atlantic coast, the Great Lakes and many Prairie potholes but around the time the falcon and eagle populations began to plummet last century, so too did the numbers of the plovers. By 1985, it was endangered in Ontario and elsewhere. Same story, different cause.
Like the hawks, the birds decline was man-made. Unlike the hawks though, it wasn't unintentional pesticide-poisoning killing them off but human disturbance. The little birds had the misfortune of liking the same beaches people do. What shorelines weren't eliminated through development were increasingly subject to flooding due to boat wakes washing onshore or being used as playgrounds for people and their dogs. The nests were washed out by waves, trodden on by beach-goers or if the eggs managed to survive , the babies all too often became a snack for pet dogs or feral cats. By the '80s they'd all but disappeared from all of the Great Lakes and all 90 or so pairs that had used the Ontario beaches only a decade or two earlier had gone. Between 1977 and 2007, none were known to have nested anywhere in the province.
Scientists began collecting some of the few remaining plovers in upper Michigan and breeding them in safe conditions, then releasing the fledged young to areas they historically lived in with hopes they'd return and set up house on their own. The program worked and in 2007, a pair nested near Sauble Beach on Lake Huron.
A handful more pairs began living on Ontario's Huron shoreline in subsequent years but this summer, a real surprise. First one pair, then a second, took up residence on the beaches of Darlington Provincial Park. The 500-acre campsite sits on the lakeshore of Oshawa's eastern boundary, only a stone's throw from the national headquarters of GM. By June 6, two nests were being sat upon. The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and the park fenced off the nest sites, recruited volunteers to watch over the special guests and chase away marauding gulls or dogs. The program was a success; both nests reared babies and by late July crowds could see as many as ten of the little birds running along the beach. Usual park crowds of campers and swimmers were joined by hundreds of birders from all around who came to see the first Piping Plovers born in the greater Toronto area for over 80 years.
Although there are now about 50 nesting pairs on the Great Lakes and a total global population of about 8000 of the birds, they remain endangered and according to Cornell University, “internationally threatened.” The Oshawa birds departed for warmer shorelines by the end of August (most spend their winters along the Gulf of Mexico or the Florida Atlantic coast), it's hoped they'll return to Darlington and perhaps other nearby beaches next year.
We, as a species, do massive damage to the environment and to many of its co-inhabitants. But the news isn't always bad, and at times it's worth noting that we can give it a helping hand. This year's Peregrines and Plovers in Oshawa, that blue-collar Chevy factory town, show that sometimes that happens right in our midst.
Piping Plover photo courtesy Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources