Three of four eggs from relocated killdeer nest hatch at Ottawa Bluesfest

OTTAWA – This year’s RBC Bluesfest will have a few new performers, after three of four eggs hatched in a bird’s nest that was relocated to make way for the main stage.

Workers at the Ottawa event discovered the nest of killdeers — members of the plover family known for their distinctive, noisy call — on a cobblestone patch that would normally be underneath the stage.

Organizers hatched a plan to move the two birds and their four eggs about 30 metres away, and an official with a federal licence to handle migratory birds began the work on Tuesday.

It involved moving the eggs to a replica nest, then moving it a single metre every 20 minutes until it reached its new home.

The painstaking work paid off on Saturday, when crew members noticed the first chick breaking through its shell.

Within hours the baby bird was “running around, seemingly no worse for wear,” according to a statement from Bluesfest, and it was soon joined by two new siblings.