Archives

14 January 2005 
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BirdLife Assesses Tsunami's Impact on Biodiversity

6 January 2005, BirdLife International - In the wake of the terrible tsunami that struck Asia and parts of East Africa on 26 December, BirdLife and Canadian co-partner, Bird Studies Canada, wish to offer their deepest sympathies to all those people whose lives have been affected by the disaster.
  "We have now been in contact with all members of the BirdLife Network in the affected region. I am pleased to say that no staff or volunteers appear to have been lost to the tsunami, although the events have obviously caused enormous trauma, shock, and damage to communities, property, habitats, and some wildlife." said BirdLife's Director, Dr. Mike Rands.
  "The immediate priority is to prevent further disease, suffering, and mortality amongst the people in the affected areas, and to begin the process of rebuilding livelihoods and basic services." - Dr. Mike Rands, Director, BirdLife
 Although it is too close to the tragedy to make detailed assessments of how the region's birds might be affected, a preliminary study from BirdLife's scientists highlights a number of species and important areas that could suffer after-effects. For more details, click here.

Field Surveys Discover Rare Birds New for Nigeria

Cross River National Park, Nigeria and Ursula's Sunbird  Photos: Mary Gartshore

12 January 2005 - A five-week field survey of four areas of Cross River National Park (CRNP), Nigeria in late 2004 found three new species of birds for Nigeria: Yellow-footed Honeyguide, Ursula's Sunbird, and Mount Kupe Bush-shrike. All three birds are listed by IUCN, with Ursula's Sunbird and Mount Kupe Bush-shrike known previously only from Cameroon. Mount Kupe Bush-shrike is listed as Endangered and was known from three sites in an area of 200 square kilometres. This new Nigerian record extends the previously known range by about 150 km. The field team was made up of Mary Gartshore, Biologist and Bird Studies Canada board member, Dave Brewer, former Long Point Bird Observatory board member and skilled bird-bander, Lincoln Fishpool, BirdLife International, Ademola Ajagbe, Ornithologist, I. S. Imong, Wildlife Conservation Society Biologist, Andrew Dunn, Wildlife Conservation Society Coordinator, and Ofere Agbor, CRNP Research support staff. The project was made possible by the excellent field support of the staff and Director, S.O. Abdulsalam, of Cross River National Park, the A.P. Leventis Conservation Foundation, the Wildlife Conservation Society, the Nigerian Conservation Foundation, and BirdLife International.

BSC International Training Experience Shared

11 January 2005 – BSC staff members Lynda Kosalle, Financial Controller, and Andrew Couturier, GIS Analyst, shared their experiences with the Norfolk Field Naturalists from attending three international training workshops, sponsored and funded by BirdLife International and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. The appreciative audience viewed photographs of the ancient city of Petra and the Wadi Rum desert in Jordan, spectacular wildlife and rainforests in Ghana, and landscapes of volcanoes and rice paddies in Indonesia. The presenters also shared information on the BirdLife International partnership – of which BSC is the Canadian co-partner – and stressed the importance and benefits of working with other countries that share responsibility for conserving birds and their habitats.

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Loon Surveyors Contribute to Toxicological Studies

13 January 2005 - For over a decade, Canadian Lakes Loon Survey (CLLS) participants have provided abandoned Common Loon eggs to the Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) Metal Toxicology Laboratory at Carleton University. All eggs submitted to the end of the 2004 season have now been analyzed for mercury and selenium levels, for use in future toxicological reports. For more information about the egg collection program and associated results, contact Kathy Jones, Aquatic Surveys Officer, (aqsurvey@bsc-eoc.org), or to learn more about the CLLS, click here. To learn more about the CWS Metal Toxicology Laboratory, click here.

BSC’s Boreal Bird Research Associate Receives Teaching Award

5 January 2005 - Bird Studies Canada’s Boreal Bird Research Associate, Dr. J. Ryan Zimmerling, was the recipient of the University of Western Ontario (UWO) Students’ Council Teaching Honour Roll Award of Excellence. This award is presented to the most outstanding teachers on UWO’s campus. Based on information received from Senate-mandated course and teacher evaluations, Professors that receive an accumulated average of 6.3 or higher out of 7 on the first 14 questions on the evaluations receive such an award from the University Student’s Council on behalf of the students. For three years, Zimmerling taught a senior-level ornithology course in the Department of Biology entitled The Adaptations and Ecology of Birds. Student enrolment in this course increased steadily over the years and reached carrying capacity in the 2003-2004 academic year.

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Coastal Surveys to be Presented at Waterbird Society Annual Meeting

14 January 2004 - BSC’s British Columbia Project Coordinator, Tasha Smith, will be presenting data from Beached Bird Surveys undertaken on Canada’s east and west coasts at the 27th Annual Meeting of the Waterbird Society, to be held jointly with the Pacific Seabird Group. The conference will be held in Portland, Oregon, from 19-23 January 2005. For more information on the conference, click here.

And Then There Was One ...

Photo: Mark Bacro

13 January 2005 - In the summer of 2004, three juvenile Bald Eagles (Olivia, Pamela, and Genna) were fitted with satellite transmitters to be tracked over the next four years, and only Olivia remains. Genna was picked up, deceased, near to her natal area in September 2004. Necropsy reports from University of Guelph determined that death was not caused by physical harm, transmitter complications, or gun shot. The carcass was severely decomposed and cause of death remains unknown. Now, only a short 3 months later, Pamela has disappeared from BSC's Eagle Tracker.
  Pamela successfully left her original natal nest, near Long Point Bay, ON, and migrated southwest through Detroit City, around Lake Michigan, and then to the upper Mississippi River in Illinois. It was within mid-State Illinois that Pamela found a three month home base, touring the shores of the Mississippi River and travelling up and down adjoining tributaries. On 19 December she was tracked east from the northern tip of Peoria Lake (Illinois) when we lost transmissions. To date, we can only speculate that either she died or her transmitter failed.
  During an eaglets first year of life they face numerous hardships, flying into the unknown with beginner hunting skills, which so often lead to early mortality. To learn more about eagles and BSC’s research, click here. To report winter sightings in Ontario, please contact Bald Eagle Program Coordinator, Dawn Laing (dlaing@bsc-eoc.org).

Imperial Oil Funds Nova Scotia Loon Education Project

10 January 2005 - The Imperial Oil Foundation has granted $6650 in support of "A Loonie for your thoughts: educating young minds about Maritime lakes and loons." This education project, which will be launched in spring 2005, will include presentations aimed at Grades 4-7 using the loon as a "flagship" species to discuss topics such as bird biology, wise use of resources, lake ecology, and lake health (including acid rain, lead and mercury poisoning, and shoreline development). A short "Teachers Guide to Loons" will also be developed as part of this initiative. If you are an educator in Nova Scotia and are interested in this project, please contact Becky Whittam (Becky.Whittam@ec.gc.ca).

Volunteers Share Experience at Long Point Bird Observatory

4 January 2004 - This past fall, Emily Burton and Barbara Campbell of Ottawa, ON took a vacation from their jobs at Statistics Canada to spend two weeks immersed in bird study at Long Point Bird Observatory. Upon their return home, they shared their memorable experience through their staff e-newsletter distributed through Statistics Canada, @StatCan. To read Emily and Barb’s story in English or French, look for "Collecting avian statistics" on the left hand menu after clicking here.

Long Lives the Eastern Kingbird

4 January 2005 - Long Point Bird Observatory (LPBO) set a longevity record for the Eastern Kingbird when one was recaptured at our Breakwater field station in 2004. Karen Jacobs, an LPBO volunteer, originally banded it on 29 May 1994, when it was determined to be an after-hatch year female. The bird was then recaptured in 1996 by Dave Broughton, in 1998 by Sean McMinn, in 2001 by Rebecca Harris, and finally on 6 June 2004 by Christian Friis. This incredible bird is at least 11 years old! The previous longevity record for an Eastern Kingbird was 9 years and 11 months. Clearly, these observations can help us learn more about the lifespan of wild birds.

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