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20 October 2006 
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BSC Staff Attend Ornithological Conference in Mexico

Migrating Wood Storks and Hawks - Veracruz, Mexico  Photo: Andrew Couturier

7 October 2006 – Five Bird Studies Canada staff attended the Fourth North American Ornithological Conference "Wings Without Borders" in Veracruz, Mexico October 3 to 7. The conference was the largest of its kind, with over 1600 attendees. BSC staff presented or coauthored several presentations and posters. Andrew Couturier presented "Geospatial Modeling of Boreal Bird Abundance with Breeding Bird Atlas Data: Conservation Applications" and Debbie Badzinski presented a poster featuring population trends from Long Point Bird Observatory entitled “What have we learned from 45 years of migration monitoring?” Jon McCracken and Denis Lepage each presented papers in a Bird Monitoring Networks of the Americas symposium. Jon presented “The Canadian Migration Monitoring Network: A Case Study” and Denis presented "Second generation breeding bird atlases as a tool for population monitoring and conservation.”
  Prior to the conference, Andrew Couturier, Jon McCracken and Denis Lepage attended the North American Atlas Committee meeting to share ideas and lessons learned from the completion of the Second Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas. At the workshop, Denis gave a presentation entitled "Controlling data quality in Breeding Bird Atlases: A case study of the Ontario project.” Following the conference, Stu Mackenzie attended a 3-day special workshop on "Bird Banding in the Americas," which focused on the development of a hemisphere-wide coordinated banding scheme, training needs and networking opportunities. In addition, a day of birding in Veracruz prior to the conference was highlighted when several BSC staff witnessed an estimated 50,000 migrating raptors – a phenomenon that was no doubt the experience of a lifetime.

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        NATIONAL

 

Baillie Fund Grants Available for Canadian Bird Research
and Conservation Projects

20 October 2006 – Bird Studies Canada is now accepting applications to the James L. Baillie Memorial Fund for the 2007 grant cycle, the 30th year of Baillie Fund grants. Since 1976, a portion of funds raised through BSC’s annual Baillie Birdathon fundraiser has been allocated to the James L. Baillie Memorial Fund for Bird Research and Preservation (the Baillie Fund) to provide grants to individuals or groups for projects that further BSC’s mission. Since 1976, the Baillie Fund has provided over half a million dollars to more than 480 bird research and conservation projects across Canada. In reviewing grant applications, the Baillie Fund Trustees give priority to well designed projects that engage the skills and enthusiasm of amateur naturalists and volunteers to help us understand, appreciate and conserve Canadian birds in their natural environments. There are three granting programs, each with a different application and review process. Applications for Regular Grants are due by 15 December 2006, applications for Small Grants are due by 15 January 2007 and application for the James L. Baillie Student Award for Field Research, administered by the Society of Canadian Ornithologists, is due by 15 February 2007. For more information about the Baillie Fund grant programs, past grants, and how to apply for a grant for your project click here, or contact the Baillie Fund Secretary at aheagy@bsc-eoc.org or phone 519-586-3531, ext. 243.

Marsh Monitoring Program Reports on its First Decade

20 October 2005 – The Marsh Monitoring Program is pleased to announce the publication of its latest report, “The Marsh Monitoring Program 1995 - 2004: A Decade of Marsh Monitoring in the Great Lakes Region.” This report provides a summary of MMP accomplishments during its first 10 years, with an emphasis on the role that Citizen Scientists have played in various wetland conservation efforts across the Great Lakes basin. Report highlights include an overview of the program, analytical results, program contributions to wetland science and conservation activities as well as future goals of the program. To download the report (5.7 Mb.) click here.

Two New Papers use BSC Data

20 October 2005 – Two research papers that use data either provided by Bird Studies Canada, or gathered at affiliated migration monitoring stations in the Canadian Migration Monitoring Network - Réseau canadien de surveillance des migrations, have just been published in the latest issue (Volume 118; Number 3) of The Wilson Journal of Ornithology (formally The Wilson Bulletin).
  Two researchers from the University of Toronto (Sarah Caldwell and Dr. Alexander Mills) investigated “Comparative Spring Migration Arrival Dates in the Two Morphs of White-throated Sparrow” using a large volume of data gathered at BSC’s Long Point Bird Observatory. As many birders know, White-throated Sparrows come in two distinct colour varieties – the “white stripe” and the “tan stripe” morphs. They found that the white-striped morph migrated through Long Point an average of just over 2 days earlier in the spring than the tan-striped morph. However, the differential migration by colour morph was strongest in females. It has previously been determined that White-throated Sparrows have a unique, morph-based breeding structure among songbirds, and it appears that differences between the two colour morphs extend into the migration period as well.
  In the second paper, Christine Debruyne, Dr. Janice Hughes and Dr. David Hussell examined “Age-related Timing and Patterns of Prebasic Body Molt in Wood Warblers” at Innis Point Bird Observatory near Ottawa and Thunder Cape Bird Observatory on the north shore of Lake Superior. They looked at two species – American Redstart and Yellow Warbler – and found no differences in the proportion of young-of-the-year and adult birds undergoing body molt during the summer/fall. However, there were age-related and species-specific differences in the timing of molt and its intensity, which the authors suggested may be linked to such things as food availability, migration strategy, and the geographical distribution of the two species.

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Jody Allair Returns to BSC

20 October 2006 – Bird Studies Canada is pleased to announce that Jody Allair has returned to BSC in the position of Recruitment and Outreach Coordinator for Ontario Programs. Jody has worked on numerous bird-related projects throughout Ontario, including the Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas and Project Peregrine, and he also spent two years as the Landbird Program Coordinator for the Long Point Bird Observatory. From 2004 to 2006 Jody worked as a Nature Educator at Calgary's Inglewood Bird Sanctuary and as a Science Educator at the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology in Drumheller, Alberta. Jody has rejoined the team at BSC to combine his love of birds with his passion for environmental education. Jody will be coordinating volunteer recruitment, public outreach and educational activities associated with several Ontario projects, including the Southern Ontario Bald Eagle Monitoring Program and the Ontario Nocturnal Owl Survey.

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