The chimney swift, a bird on the federal government’s endangered species list, was observed for a second consecutive year on the campus of the École de technologie supérieure (ETS), in downtown Montreal. In response to this event, the university establishment plans to build an artificial chimney where the birds can nest.
It was while carrying out a biodiversity inventory in the university district that the ETS sustainable development team and the urban ecology organization Eco-Pivot spotted the chimney swift. Among the twenty avian species identified, this bird caught the attention of Eco-Pivot biologist Daphnée Lecours Tessier, responsible for ornithological inventories. According to her, the repeated observation in 2021 and 2022 of the bird means that it would have settled in this sector of Griffintown.
Since the 1970s, aerial insectivores — those birds that feed on insects in flight — have been among the avian species experiencing the steepest declines. Most populations, such as the swallow, have declined by 80%, but for the chimney swift, this figure increases to 95%. Today, there are only 2,500 individuals left in Quebec, says Véronique Bellavance, biologist and conservation coordinator at the Zoo de Granby.
Before becoming a chimney sweep and occupying brick chimneys, the swift populated the forests, where it nested in the cavities of large diameter dead trunks. For this flyer whose legs were too weak to stand up, the wide sides of the snags were ideal for landing vertically or for building a nest.
The rejuvenation of forests, caused by intensive deforestation and human exploitation, has led to a scarcity of large trees, and therefore of nesting sites. Faced with this collapse of the residential market, the cave bird, forced to exodus, flew to the cities, leaving behind the once welcoming woodland territories.
Today, more and more urban chimneys, in which the chimney swift has found refuge, are condemned or simply demolished. This new pressure, to which are added the decline in insect populations and the fall in entomal biodiversity, seriously threatens the survival of the species, underlines Véronique Bellavance.
artificial nesting boxes
When passing the To have to on the ETS campus, about fifteen chimney swifts were seen in the sky, whistling their characteristic high-pitched trills. Wings arched like boomerangs, the fliers twirled in a circle, chasing insects invisible to observers on the ground.
Although the presence of Chimney Swifts in this corner of Griffintown is cause for celebration, it is not surprising. In total, a dozen nest boxes – where couples isolate themselves during the nesting period – have been listed near a dormitory located two kilometers from the ETS, in a place kept secret in order to ensure their protection. . “The ETS is in a hot zone”, illustrates the biologist. This is why the school is planning to build artificial chimneys in collaboration with the Zoo de Granby. The latter is also the origin of two nesting turrets in Granby and Sutton.
We do not want to green for greening. We want to think about our projects to help endangered and native species.
“It’s a long-term project, but we’d like teachers and students to build the artificial chimney,” says ETS sustainable development advisor Julien-Pierre Lacombe.
In the middle of a greening campaign, the school wants to have an accurate portrait of the birds, insects, plants and bats that frequent its campus. “We don’t want to green for greening. We want to think about our projects to help endangered and native species,” he explains. Honey gardens to sustain pollinators and conifer plantations to accommodate nesting birds are among the most recent landscaping developments.
A changing campus
Julien-Pierre Lacombe recognizes that physical arrangements, such as an artificial chimney, are more difficult to achieve than landscaping. He takes as an example the pedestrianization of Murray Street, which crosses the campus from north to south, and the years of dealings with the City of Montreal that were necessary.
Today, greening projects are multiplying on this former main road. Honey gardens, developed by the Miel Montréal cooperative, occupy places that were once reserved for cars. And the narrow sidewalks that surrounded the former Dow brewery, now the main pavilion of the ETS, now leave room for many trees and shrubs.
If landscaping is popular at the ETS, it is because it is located on the edge of the city center, a dense and heavily mineralized sector. The campus alone cannot accommodate large havens of biodiversity. The plots of greenery that punctuate the flowerbed and the roofs of the university district are part of a much larger network, says Julien-Pierre Lacombe. Of these, he cites the shores of the Lachine Canal, the linear park on Robert-Bourassa Boulevard and a host of other green islands located nearby.
“It’s good for connectivity. I find it relevant to have small spaces. It allows the animals to rest for a few seconds before continuing on their way to larger environments,” adds biologist Daphnée Lecours Tessier.