THE District of North Vancouver has had to hold off on some roadwork and waterline replacement in the Capilano Highlands because a pair of hawks has built a nest too close to the construction site.
The district was supposed to begin work on Sunset Boulevard along Upper MacKay Creek Park in July, but surveyors noticed two Cooper's hawks in a nest nearby.
After calling in a consultant, staff determined the nest was occupied by a male and a female hawk and possibly a brood of chicks, and as such was subject to provincial protection under the Wildlife Act, which forbids the disturbance of birds' nests until the fledgling period - in which the chick still lives in the nest - concludes at end of Au-gust. The start date for the work is now postponed until Sept. 4.
"We acknowledge the responsibility we have of managing our ecosystem and respecting these habitats," said district Mayor Richard Walton. "Occasionally, that may mean having to delay construction projects, as is the case with the work on Sunset Boulevard."
