Tonnes of rubble have been dumped on the side of Gqeberha's Baakens River, sealing off 20-odd kingfisher burrows in the bank and, at the height of breeding season, suffocating whatever birds, eggs and hatchlings that were inside.
The rubble comes from a Nelson Mandela Bay municipality-contracted company which is repairing nearby South Union Street, in Central's Lower Baakens precinct.
However, when The Herald went to the site, the contractor said he had dumped it there after a specific request from the municipality, apparently after they were approached by the Mandela Bay Development Agency (MBDA).
The situation was posted on Thursday morning on the Baakens Valley Security Cluster WhatsApp group, sparking outrage and dismay among members.
When The Herald got to the site, a pair of pied kingfishers was perched on the wall on the one side of the rubble pile.
Baakens Valley Security Cluster marketing manager Alan Millard said he was dumbfounded when he saw the situation on Thursday morning.
"I'm a bird lover and I've been keeping an eye on these little guys for a long time.
"There were at least 20 burrows in this bank and they were being used by pied and giant kingfishers.
"This is the middle of the breeding season so there would have been birds inside each burrow with either eggs or hatchlings.
"So they've all been suffocated or crushed.
"It makes me very angry and sad."
With pied and giant kingfishers, like with all kingfishers, both sexes incubate the eggs and feed the hatchlings.
The section of bank favoured by the Lower Baakens kingfishers drops about 4m from the top to the level of the water.
It is situated on the corner of South Union and Produce streets, on the edge of the river, and contained in an oval of concrete barriers, open at one side.
It was the perfect breeding spot because it was sheltered and hidden — but now it is filled to the brim with chunks of old tar and other road-building material.
Wildlife rescue expert and former state environmental compliance officer Arnold Slabbert, who raced to the scene after being alerted by Millard, said the dumping was a disgrace.
"Any birds, eggs or chicks that were in the burrows, are now dead.
"But even if there were no birds, it is totally illegal to dump rubble like this at an unregistered site and on the side of a river, which makes it even worse.
"The details here are not yet clear but all too often around the metro, illegal dumping is carried out by contractors looking for a cheap and easy way to get rid of their waste material."
The rubble was apparently transported by front-end loader from the repair zone in South Union Street, 300m down to the dump site.
The man in charge of the road repair company, who asked not to be named, said he and his team had been at the point of removing the rubble to an official dumping facility, when they received a request from the metro.
"I believe they in turn received a request from the MBDA.
"They asked us if we could dump the rubble at that point on the edge of the river, which is what we did."
A municipal roads and transport department supervisor, who was also at the scene, said he had seen the situation for the first time on Thursday morning.
"I received a WhatsApp from my department, asking what was going on, so I came to check, and I found this."
He said he could not comment on the assertion from the contractor that he had acted in accordance with a request from the metro and the MBDA.
MBDA spokesperson Nicole Klokow said the agency understood the concern raised but had taken the step because in their view it was necessary.
"The agency made the request because there was a public safety concern.
"At the time we were not aware of the bird burrows.
"We understand why the issue has raised concern, and we take those concerns seriously.
"We request the opportunity to meet with the concerned groups to discuss the issue, and understand it, and confirm a remedy and a way forward together."
Questions were sent to the metro's communications desk, and receipt was confirmed, but no response had been received by the time of the stipulated deadline.