The Bay of Fundy coastline was shrouded in a heavy fog. Thick darkness had descended. It was a gloomy evening. An appropriate setting for what was about to transpire.
It was Sept. 13, 2013, about 10 p.m., and a malfunction in the stack at Canaport LNG LP, a liquefied natural gas facility, caused huge flames to flare up into the sky.
Flocks of songbirds attracted to the light flew towards the flames. For the next 7 hours, smouldering bird bodies dropped from the foggy darkness at the rate of about one songbird every two-and-a-half seconds. By daybreak, more than 7,000 migrating songbirds were dead, or unable to fly.
A month after the tragic incident, Environment Canada wildlife enforcement officers raided the facility. After an investigation was conducted by Environment Canada.
In the aftermath, the government laid three charges against Canaport LNG, two under the migratory birds convention and one under the Species at Risk Act.
Each violation carries a maximum penalty of $1 million. In 2015, the case came to a close, and Canaport LPG was forced to pay a fine of $750,000.
This represented less than a third of the maximum fines possible. Outrage ensued in the press, receiving a bad reaction in the press, who said the fine was too low, but all this money is being directed towards conservation efforts for birds.
Read more about the deadly day at Canaport LPG, and how the event and the ensuing investigation all went down in Canadian Wildlife magazine, Mar + Apr 2016 edition.
This summary is taken from the original version of the article by Don McAlpine.
Feature photo by Ray Holmberg, a photo contest submission.