Three and a half weeks after the Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority announced it dropped plans for a 567-foot-high, two-tower cable stay bridge in favor of a lower profile bridge because the design was determined to have a negative affect on migratory birds, area bird watchers aren't convinced the original bridge plan won't go through.

The bird in question is the common tern which nests in Buffalo Harbour and a scientist who has studied the species for more than 30 years says he fears for the future of the bird if the bridge is built.

"It's a classic confrontation between environmental concerns and political issues. But now we have a circumstance where you're dealing with a threatened or endangered species," said Ralph Morris, a retired professor at Brock University who has studied common terns nesting on a breakwall in Port Colborne since the mid-1970s.

"Human activities have driven life forms to the brink of extinction for decades. Here's another one. If you sell this to a lot of economic politicians they will say, 'We don't care -- we're more interested in tourism, we're more interested in image, we're more interested in the look of the bridge than we are in anything else.' "

His worry stems from reports of a push for additional studies by the U.S. Federal Highway Administration and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Morris says in 1987, there were 1,311 pairs of common terns nesting in Port Colborne. In the past four years, he has counted 20 common terns on the wall.

Over the last 15 years, the species has been struggling to sustain the colony against ring-billed gulls who establish nests after they return from migration in March, one month before the common tern.

Morris says the group of terns in Buffalo has become important for the future of the species, which was virtually ousted from the Port Colborne colony.

"In Lake Erie, those colonies are the only colonies of common terns at this end of the lake. The Buffalo Harbour site is now a major location for common terns. My heart is with these common terns because they're struggling so hard and all over the Great Lakes we're losing colonies of common terns."

Marcie Jacklin, a Fort Erie resident, nature lover and science librarian at Brock University, frequently watches birds along the Niagara River and Lake Erie shore. Based on her observations, she says the height of the proposed bridge would hinder the common tern's ability to not only nest, but to feed their young.

"I would think that it could be a problem for any bird trying to get over a bridge that tall, especially on a foggy day. If a bird chooses to fly above the cables, that's more energy it has to spend," said Jacklin. "If it was feeding babies it would have to expend more energy to get food and that could result in loss of nests."

Jacklin goes birdwatching several times a week and said she has never seen common terns fly under the Peace Bridge.

"I have seen them swoop in around the bridge. They like to fly low, but also go high to dive for fish. With all the water in Niagara, the fact is they need to catch fish of the right size and be able to return to the nest. In some cases they may not make it back to the nest."

Jacklin said she moved to Fort Erie specifically to be closer to the birds and said bird watching attracted not only herself but others to flock to Fort Erie's shores for a glimpse of an array of birds.

"I will go with whatever the experts say, but my problem is it seems to be the politicians against people who know about wildlife. Frankly I think we would get more tourism from bird watching instead of from people coming to see the bridge."

Niagara Falls MPP and Justice Minister Rob Nicholson said the issue is in the hands of the bridge authority.

"We're taking queues from the Peace Bridge Authority," he said.