Your new roommates could be birds, seriously

Morning from the Central Plains — here's what's moving through Portage today. You ever hear about something that just makes you scratch your head and think, "well, that's certainly a Manitoba thing"? Today, it's about a Winnipeg couple who found themselves sharing their 91-year-old home with some unexpected tenants: chimney swifts. These aren't just any birds; they're a threatened species, and they've decided this couple's chimney is prime real estate.

It's a reminder that even in our busiest corridors, nature finds a way. Here in Portage, we see it all the time with the marshlands right up to the edge of the city, or the way the Assiniboine River attracts all sorts of wildlife. Imagine trying to explain to your neighbours on Saskatchewan Avenue that you've got endangered birds living in your flue pipe. It's a bit different than the usual pigeon problem, that's for sure.

* **Unexpected Tenants:** A Winnipeg couple discovered chimney swifts, a threatened migratory bird, nesting in their 91-year-old home's chimney.

* **Conservation Crossroads:** These birds are a protected species, meaning the homeowners can't just evict them.

* **City & Nature:** It highlights how urban development and natural habitats intersect, even in older, established neighborhoods.

For us in Portage la Prairie, living between the Delta Marsh and the industrial parks, it just underscores how we're always balancing progress with the land around us. It's a different kind of issue than managing water levels at the Diversion or getting our crops to the processing plants on time, but it’s another piece of that mosaic of living here in the Central Plains.

The crew on the morning show dives into stories like this every day – get the full scoop over at mornings.live.