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28 January 2005 
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BSC Science Advisor and Owl Expert Featured in National Geographic

26 January 2005 - Biologist and BSC National Science Advisory Council member, Jim Duncan, shared his perceptive and intimate knowledge of the life history of Great Gray Owls in a recent National Geographic article. The photo-rich article Winged Silence can be found in the February 2005 issue. For a sneak preview, click here.  The article is particularly timely as many parts of southern Canada and the northern United States are experiencing one of the largest irruptions of Great Gray Owls in history.  These irruptions occur when populations of small rodents (the Great Gray's favourite prey) crash and the owls are forced to move south in search of a meal.

Around the World in 46 Days

14 January 2005, BirdLife International - A new study has identified the year-round habitat of the Grey-headed Albatross. This research offers further hope of reducing the unnecessary slaughter of this and other albatross species by long-line fisheries.
  By attaching tiny logging devices (geo-locators) to the birds' legs and monitoring their movements over a period of 18 months or more, scientists from the British Antarctic Survey found that most birds travelled from their breeding sites off the coast of South Georgia to areas of the southwest Indian Ocean. Over half then made amazing round-the-world journeys – the fastest in just 46 days. To learn more about this incredible long-distance traveller, click here.

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Loon Survey Participants Invited to Help with 
Country Home and Cottage Show

28 January 2005 - The Canadian Lakes Loon Survey (CLLS) is hosting a booth at the Country Home and Cottage Show on 8-10 April 2005 at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, ON. Kathy Jones, Aquatic Surveys Officer, and Hugh McArthur, Bird Studies Canada volunteer, will attend the show, give seminars, and distribute educational material. If you are a loon participant and live in the Ottawa area, you are welcome to help out at the show. For more information or to sign up for a volunteer stint at the CLLS booth, contact Kathy Jones aqsurvey@bsc-eoc.org . To learn more about CLLS, click here. 
  Special thanks to The Meech Creek Show Company and the Country Home & Cottage Show for providing the CLLS with a booth free of charge and to TD Friends of the Environment Foundation for supporting the CLLS program. To learn more about the show, click here.

 

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Environment Canada Awards $15,000 for Marsh Monitoring in Québec

26 January 2005 - Marshbird data gathered by participants of the Marsh Monitoring Program (MMP) in Québec will be used as an indicator in the State of the St. Lawrence Monitoring Program. 
  To support this new initiative, the Centre Saint-Laurent of Environment Canada, Québec region, is awarding $15,000 to Bird Studies Canada (BSC). This funding will allow BSC to expand the Québec MMP along the St. Lawrence River by promoting it to groups and associations with an interest in birds and wetlands and by producing all the necessary material to conduct surveys. Volunteer MMP participants survey marshbirds in a predetermined marsh between the end of May and mid-July. People interested in participating in Québec can contact Catherine Poussart, coordinator, at 418-649-6062 or by e-mail at Catherine.poussart@ec.gc.ca.

Les données d’inventaires d’oiseaux de marais recueillies par les participants du Programme de surveillance des marais (PSM) au Québec seront utilisées par Environnement Canada comme indicateur dans le programme Suivi de l’état du Saint-Laurent . 
  Afin de supporter cette nouvelle initiative, le Centre Saint-Laurent d’Environnement Canada de la région du Québec, offre à Études d’Oiseaux Canada (ÉOC) une somme de 15 000$. Ce financement permettra à ÉOC d’étendre le PSM le long du Saint-Laurent en le promouvant aux groupes et associations ayant un intérêt pour les oiseaux et les milieux humides en bordure du Saint-Laurent et en produisant tout le matériel nécessaire à la réalisation des inventaires. Les participants volontaires du PSM effectuent des inventaires d’oiseaux de marais dans un marais prédéterminé entre la fin de mai et la mi-juillet. Toute personne intéressée à participer à ce programme au Québec peut contacter Catherine Poussart, coordonnatrice, au (418) 649-6062 ou en lui écrivant à Catherine.poussart@ec.gc.ca.

Owl Surveys Receive Attention in Québec

26 January 2005 - Catherine Poussart of BSC’s Québec regional office hosted a meeting with local conservation groups and representatives of the provincial and federal government to discuss establishing owl surveys in Québec. Presently, Québec is the only province where owls are not yet monitored through targeted volunteer surveys. During the meeting, existing nocturnal owl monitoring programs were reviewed and survey logistics were discussed. Participants expressed an interest in establishing owl routes in Québec and a second meeting has been scheduled for fall 2005, with the objective of doing a pilot year in spring 2006. For more information on BSC’s nocturnal owl surveys, click here .

Catherine Poussart, employée d’ÉOC au Québec, a tenu une réunion avec des groupes québécois de conservation et des représentants des gouvernements provincial et fédéral afin de discuter de l'élaboration de recensements de hiboux nocturnes au Québec. Actuellement, Québec est la seule province où les hiboux nocturnes ne sont pas suivis par des inventaires spécifiques menés par des bénévoles. Un aperçu des inventaires existants et la logistique d'inventaires ont été discutés durant la réunion. Les participants se sont montrés intéressés quant à l'instauration de tels inventaires au Québec et une seconde rencontre est prévue à l’automne 2005, dans l'objectif de mener une étude pilote au printemps 2006. Pour en savoir davantage sur les inventaires de hiboux nocturnes coordonnés par ÉOC, appuyez-ici (lien en anglais seulement).

Hooded Warbler Prominent on Norfolk Coat of Arms

24 January 2005 - Norfolk County, home base of Bird Studies Canada’s (BSC’s) national headquarters, recently unveiled its new Coat of Arms. On the recommendation of BSC staff, the Hooded Warbler is prominently featured. Norfolk County supports the majority of the Canadian Hooded Warbler population, which is restricted to the Carolinian zone. While Hooded Warblers prefer mature forest, they tend to nest in dense, shrubby vegetation, typically found within openings, or gaps, in the forest canopy. BSC began intensively monitoring the local Hooded Warbler population in 1999, and much has been learned about "hoodie" habitat, reproduction, predation, and survival rates.
  Do you know what’s on your municipality’s Coat of Arms? If it also features a bird, we want to know which species, and why. We’ll profile a few examples in a future issue of Latest News. Just reply to this e-newsletter or send an e-mail Wendy Cridland at wcridland@bsc-eoc.org.

Ph.D. Graduate Research Position Available in Waterfowl Ecology

24 January 2005 - The Long Point Waterfowl and Wetland Research Fund (LPWWRF) is seeking a highly motivated Ph.D. candidate with strong quantitative and writing skills for a 3-year study of seasonal movement patterns, diel habitat use, food choice, and nutrient reserve dynamics of Ring-necked Ducks staging in southwestern Ontario. Candidates should have completed (or be near completion of) a Master's Degree in Biology, Wildlife Ecology, or related discipline. A strong background in waterfowl/wetland ecology, prior field experience, analysis of complex data sets, and use of radio-telemetry, including associated analysis techniques, is an asset. Field-work is anticipated to begin during fall 2005. Prior to that, candidates will successfully enroll in the Biology Program at the University of Western Ontario and independently develop their research hypotheses and proposal. Interested applicants should submit, via e-mail, a cover letter outlining how they meet each criterion for the position and their CV, including names and contact information for three references to Dr. Shannon Badzinski, Scientist, Long Point Waterfowl and Wetlands Research Fund at sbadzinski@bsc-eoc.org by 28 February 2005. For more information about LPWWRF, click here.

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