HAMPTON, Va. — Spring brings dozens of vulnerable bird species to nest around the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel expansion. A group of bird monitors and a few smart dogs are making sure they don't get too close.
From pelicans to terns and gulls, you can see them all flying over the construction equipment.
“From year-to-year, we’ll have anywhere from 80 to 100 species I’d say and even this year, we’ve had new species," said Anna Romano, an environmental scientist with VHB and lead bird monitor for the HRBT expansion.
The team of monitors ensures the birds don't get too close.
It's spring migration season for the species that fall into the colonial nesting group — a vital and vulnerable class of bird that nests in and around the Hampton Roads Harbor.
“So this is a historical nesting ground," said Sara McMahen, another bird monitor and scientist with VHB. ”This is the largest colony that nests here in the state of Virginia.”
And she says for five years, she, Romano and other monitors have been helping the $4 billion HRBT project watch these protected species.
Feet away from the HRBT's South Island, Civil War-era Fort Wool and several barges serve as temporary nesting areas, but there's no guarantee the birds won't fly over and try to nest around construction areas.
"(They put) grid wire on top of the roofs of the buildings. They also have the crews of dogs out here that will haze any of the birds that attempt to land," said McMahen.
A group of dogs, including border collies, from a company called Flyaway Geese have been trained to chase away colonial nesting birds that try to nest. If they don't succeed and the birds nest, crews are required to rope off the nest until chicks hatch and fly away.
Romano and McMahen are constantly weaving around HRBT equipment to make sure that doesn't happen. And when they're not at work, a "Bird Phone" must be monitored 24/7, they say, in case someone sees a bird and doesn't know what to do.
It's crucial in the delicate dance between VDOT's largest-ever project and a vital nesting ground.
“The birds always surprise us and we’re always ready to just handle the next adventure that comes along," said Romano.
And the hope is that successfully protecting the bird species here will help future projects be able to do the same.
