Caltrans scrambles to lure cormorants to new Bay Bridge span

A cormorant, a marine diving bird, dries off his wings adjacent to the lower desk of the eastbound lanes of the new Bay Bridge. Friday July 10, 2009 A cormorant, a marine diving bird, dries off his wings adjacent to the lower desk of the eastbound lanes of the new Bay Bridge. Friday July 10, 2009 Photo: Lance Iversen, The Chronicle Photo: Lance Iversen, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 15 Caption Close Caltrans scrambles to lure cormorants to new Bay Bridge span 1 / 15 Back to Gallery

With the demolition of the old Bay Bridge eastern span already six months behind schedule, Caltrans plans to spend $12.8 million to beat the clock on a bird-nesting season that could tie up the takedown well into next year.

At issue: 800 or so double-crested cormorants - a state-protected "species of special concern" - that have enjoyed migratory squatter rights on the bridge since they moved here from Alaska, Mexico and Nova Scotia in 1984.

The lanky black birds with hooked bills nest from April to August, mostly on the far eastern end of the old bridge.

Caltrans has already spent $709,000 to build "condos" for the birds on the underside of the new span - 2 1/2-foot-wide, stainless-steel nesting platforms - but so far, there have been no takers.

"I'm not going to disparage the birds ... but they're kind of like people - moving is hard," said Randy Rentschler, spokesman for the Bay Area Toll Authority.

The original idea was to give contractors doing the demolition over the next three years plenty of time between mating seasons to cover the old structure with nets or take other steps to keep the birds out.

But when the demolition fell behind schedule, that plan was shot. So now officials plan to spend $12.8 million for extra workers and equipment to speed up the job and get it back on track.

If all goes according to plan, they can still award the next piece of demolition work on time this summer - preserving the window for workers to take their "birds keep out" measures before the cormorants return next spring.

If that doesn't happen and the cormorants start laying their eggs, "it would be difficult to get permits to allow us to remove the birds," said Bay Bridge project spokesman Andrew Gordon.

Put it together, and you have a nightmarish scenario that could mire the demolition in months of additional red tape and costs.

"It's just not easy to get a big project done, and this is yet another reason why it's hard," Rentschler said.

In fact, the birds aren't the only creatures that have gotten special attention.

Early on, crews building the $6.4 billion new eastern span had to use "bubble curtains" to protect fish and marine mammals from the deafening sound of underwater pile drivers.

Caltrans' inability to lure the cormorants over to the new span isn't for lack of trying. Biologists have been experimenting with bird decoys and cormorant recordings to get them to move to their new, rent-free pads.

They even furnished the condos with nesting material.

The birds reacted by simply hauling the bedding back to their old digs.

Ultimately, the only sure solution to keeping the cormorants off the old span is to tear the old span down.

In other words, Rentschler said: "Make them move."

Gloves off: The bell just went off for this year's heavyweight BART labor battle.

Only instead of worker walkouts, this time the fight involves a political campaign - with labor coming out swinging in an East Bay Assembly race for Dublin Mayor Tim Sbranti over Orinda City Councilman Steve Glazer, whose big issue is banning BART strikes.

But the labor effort could backfire.

As The Chronicle's Carla Marinucci reported Wednesday, teachers unions, service employees and other labor groups have poured $335,000 into an independent campaign for Sbranti, who happens to be the past president of the California Teachers Association's political action committee.

Glazer certainly baited the bull, circulating petitions during BART workers' two strikes last year that called for banning public-transit employees from walking out.

In the past, a big union push would spell almost certain defeat for the targeted candidate - but maybe not this time.

A survey of 360 district voters in November by J. Moore Methods, commissioned by Glazer, found that 55 percent of those quizzed had an unfavorable opinion of public employee unions - and 77 percent looked unfavorably at BART unions.

Debating: A random sampling of the packed-to-the-rafters crowd at Oakland's first mayoral debate showed that - while most were shopping for a replacement for incumbent Jean Quan - few left with a firm idea of whom they'd vote for.

"I'm still undecided," hills resident Debbie Foster said after two hours of listening to nine candidates talk about public safety.

Rockridge resident Victoria Griffith said she was most impressed with civil rights lawyer Dan Siegel - not so much for his politics, but because he offered "a clear plan with numbers about what he would do to make the police more efficient." Karen Anderson of East Oakland said she came specifically to hear what Quan had to say on crime.

"I'd have to give her a C-minus," Anderson said.