JOSHUA ALLAN
The 1019 Report
A new $250,000 project at Le Nichoir bird conservation centre in Hudson will train wildlife professionals from across Quebec in providing emergency care to birds impacted by oil spills.
The organization will receive a $117,000 federal grant to help get the Oil-spill Avian Response System (OARS) off the ground.
Starting this coming April the project will train 40 individuals with professional backgrounds in animal biology and environmental science on how to properly wash oiled birds. The program will detail the step-by-step process on identifying containments, wearing the proper protective gear and safely cleaning the animals.
“A lot of these containments are toxic for people, as well as the animals,” Susan Wylie, director of operations at Le Nichoir, said in an interview.
She said a lot more goes into the cleaning process for these birds than a popular dish-soap commercial might make one think.
“It’s important that the people taking the course understand how to protect themselves because it can become a dangerous situation if you don’t know what you’re doing,” Wylie said.
Staff at Le Nichoir, one of Canada’s largest wild bird conservation and rehabilitation centres, assist many oiled birds each year. But on the whole, Quebec is alarmingly underprepared to act should a large oil spill impact numerous birds in different areas of the province, Wylie explained.
As thousands of commercial ships and recreational boats travel the St. Lawrence Seaway each year, she added that it is not a matter of if, but when an oil spill will occur.
“If something were to happen tomorrow, everyone would be scrambling,” Wylie said, adding that it is “unrealistic to think that it won’t occur, knowing that we have a lot of boats that are coming and going, we have a lot of industry in the province. To me it’s about being preventative and being prepared.”
The project will be launched in collaboration with International Bird Rescue – a California-based non-profit specializing in rehabilitating aquatic birds impacted by oil spills.
Trainees will be given three courses, taught in English and French, two of which will be hands-on training sessions.
“By supporting Le Nichoir through the Environmental Damages Fund, we are increasing our collective capacity to respond to environmental emergencies and improve the outcomes for impacted birds,” said Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault in a statement.
“In time, OARS could also become an important platform for oil-spill training across Canada,” Vaudreuil-Soulanges MP Peter Schiefke added.
The federal government’s $117,000 contribution to the $250,000 project will mean Le Nichoir is tasked with raising the final $133,000. So far, $77,000 has already been raised, Wylie said.
As well as the training sessions, funds will be put toward the construction of a new aquatic aviary, which will allow the centre to receive and rehabilitate aquatic birds year-round.
Le Nichoir rehabilitates about 2,500 to 3,000 injured birds every year. Founded in 1996, the conservancy began its operations in a 200-year-old barn on its property on Main Road in the west end of Hudson. In 2016, a new facility was built, enabling the organization to operate all year round.
It takes in songbirds, aquatic and insectivorous birds, referring to species that feed exclusively on insects while flying, like barn swallows, nightjars and flycatchers. It does not admit pigeons or birds of prey.
There are other sanctuaries in Canada, but what makes Le Nichoir unique is its size. In addition to its nursery it has an equipped treatment centre and a large outdoor flight enclosure where vistors get to watch the birds while they rehabilitate safe from predators.
The facility is licensed by the federal and provincial governments to rehabilitate and care for wild birds in captivity with the goal of releasing them back into nature. But its funding is all privately sourced.