On Friday, Parks Canada said that the collection of thousands of nesting cormorants on Middle Island have started in a bid to protect the biology of Canada's southernmost landmass.

The collection, executed by Parks Canada and Point Pelee National Park staff, is said to be a part of the five-year $380,000 Middle Island Conservation Plan.

The plan anticipates bringing the island, back into natural balance and preserving its biodiversity.

Point Pelee Superintendent, Marian Stranak, stated, "By reducing the nesting pairs as well as replacing the birds' nests with scarecrows, Parks Canada hopes to protect the nine species at risk on the Island".

According to Stranak, the park has been asked by the federal Species at Risk Act to take action.

Although, Cormorant Defenders International, an agency which has been supervising and documenting the affect of the Middle Island culls said that one-third of 2009's cull was killed on Tuesday alone.

Stranak also said that the aim is not to do away with the double-breasted cormorant, it is actually only to lessen its numbers to guard the balance of the ecology.

It has been said that the cull will begin from mid-April to mid-May.