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Protected bird nearly cancels music festival

The bird and the four eggs — both of which enjoy protected status in Canada — would have been in the middle of Ottawa Bluesfest
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Eggs are seen below a nesting killdeer bird on a cobblestone path on the site of the Ottawa Bluesfest music festival, is seen in front of the festival’s promotional limousine, in Ottawa on Monday, June 25, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

A plan hatched by an Ottawa music festival to move a tiny plover and its egg-laden nest has been given the go-ahead by federal authorities.

Environment and Climate Change Canada says it is issuing a permit for Ottawa Bluesfest organizers to move the killdeer and its four eggs to a nearby suitable habitat.

The department says in a statement that the relocation will allow the nest to remain — and the eggs to hatch — in a natural environment.

But if the mother abandons the eggs, which is a possibility, the eggs will be transported to a facility where they have the best chance of survival.

The bird and the four eggs — both of which enjoy protected status in Canada — were nestled on a cobblestone patch that would normally be directly underneath the main Bluesfest stage.

Moving the nest required federal approval, which arrived ahead of a deadline that would have caused a cascade of construction problems for the 11-day festival, which gets underway next week.

The Canadian Press

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