The gravity of the damage being done at Capisic Pond in Portland didn’t really hit home until I stopped by to look at birds in the middle of spring migration one recent day.

The plan to drain the pond and remove the native cattails could not have come at a worse time, considering all the nesting birds and wildlife that will be disrupted or killed as a result of this process.

I can’t speak for others, but I have always found Capisic Pond to be beautiful as is. I recall waiting for hours up in a tree, looking over the cattails just to catch a glimpse of the first wood duck I had ever seen, or being amazed by the variety of warblers you find on the first half of the walk, and coming by wrens, orioles and even the threatened rusty blackbird (again, my first-ever sighting at Capisic).

I don’t know or understand why anyone would want to change that. That said, if the city wants to spend its $2 million re-facing an already beautiful area, I am not one to stop them, but I would hope that someone would at the very least realize that doing it now, in the middle of spring, will severely disrupt the nesting process of thousands of birds. A ridiculous attempt to catch and move turtles is doing no good for that population as well.

It’s disheartening to see numerous birds gathering nesting material, knowing that their nests are going to be dredged in the upcoming days.

I would ask those involved to consider moving this project to a point in time where it will be the least invasive to native birds and wildlife in the area.

Seth Davis

Portland