Recent Funding Helps
Bicknell's Thrush
3 November 2006 – Most Maritimers
are unaware that their foggy forests are home to about 15 percent of the
global population of one of North America's rarest songbirds – the
Bicknell's Thrush. This will soon change, thanks to recent funding from
Environment Canada's Habitat Stewardship Program, Shell Environmental
Fund, and TD Friends of the Environment Foundation. Bird Studies
Canada’s Atlantic Region has recently received funding from these
sources to produce a public education and outreach brochure on
Bicknell's Thrush in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Bicknell's Thrush is
designated as a Species of Special Concern under Canada's Species
at Risk Act and as Vulnerable under Nova Scotia's Endangered
Species Act, because of its sparse and fragmented population and habitat
threats such as climate change, acid rain, development, and forestry
operations. Even in its preferred habitat, Bicknell's Thrush is rarely
seen though its ethereal flute-like song often serenades the high,
stunted spruce woods at dawn or dusk.
The brochure will be developed through
BSC Atlantic Region's High Elevation Landbird Program (HELP), which is
designed to monitor bird species like Bicknell's Thrush that typically
breed at high elevations and remote locations – areas seldom covered by
other volunteer bird monitoring programs. The brochure will describe how
to identify Bicknell's Thrush by sight and song, where it is found, and
how citizens can HELP monitor its population status. BSC will distribute
the brochure to local Maritime communities near Bicknell's Thrush
breeding areas through schools, parks, tourist information centres, and
naturalist groups. It is hoped that tourists and residents of the
Maritimes will become more knowledgeable about this secretive and little
known species and the importance of remote Maritime forests to its
survival.
Online Data Entry a Multiple Hit for the BC Coastal Waterbird Survey
3 November 2006
– Since September, the BC Coastal
Waterbird Survey has received a major boost from volunteer surveyors now
entering their data online. Data for approximately 40 percent of sites
surveyed are now being entered online,
compared to less than 10 percent previously, and numbers are increasing
by the week. The online data-entry facility provides volunteer surveyors
with a means to access and view their data online and print out their
survey forms. Online data entry is making a
big difference to the overall efficiency of managing the dataset. Each
surveyor entering all their data online this winter will receive one of
a range of gifts, many of which have been generously donated by Wild
Birds Unlimited. For more information, contact Peter Davidson,
pdavidson@bsc-eoc.org.
Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Ontario, 2001-2005 – Special Early-bird
Offer
3 November 2006
– Now is your chance to order at
special low prices the upcoming Atlas of the Breeding Birds of
Ontario, 2001-2005, which is on schedule for its fall 2007
publication date. The Atlas is the result of the efforts of over 2000
volunteers who logged 150,000 hours in the field to complete this
monumental survey of the breeding distribution and abundance of birds
across Ontario. The Atlas will be an invaluable reference for birders
and nature lovers not just in Ontario, but across the country, the
United States, and beyond. It will be an essential conservation and
wildlife management resource for professionals in numerous fields. Atlas
results will show changes in bird distributions since the first Atlas
(1981-1985), highlighting both good and bad news stories for many
species. The 700-page book will be beautifully designed, bound in hard
cover, with full-colour, state-of-the-art maps and photographs
accompanying the more than 300 species accounts, each written by experts
in the field.
To order advance copies at special
pre-publication prices or to learn more about the project and book
visit
the atlas website or call
1-866-900-7100. The advance price (which includes
shipping & taxes) for atlas participants is $67.00
or $79.00 for general
purchase. The deadline for pre-sale orders is
28 February 2007
Bayou Club
Fundraiser for Waterfowl Research
3 November 2006
– It is well known that
the hunting community is
very generous when it comes to supporting wildlife conservation,
research, and management. This is particularly
evident at Long Point, where some of Canada's
most important waterfowl staging habitat is found. In fact,
Long Point Inner
Bay, and
its associated wetlands,
is critically important to hundreds of
thousands of waterfowl as they migrate between wintering
and breeding areas each year.
Because of their
appreciation of Long Point’s wetlands and the history of
waterfowling in this region, Fred Mannix and Bill Turnbull purchased the
Bayou Club near Port Rowan three years ago.
Fred and Bill have a long history of contributing to wildlife
conservation; Fred recently received the Order
of Canada, as well as the Bert McKee
Conservation Award, and Bill is a former President of Ducks Unlimited
Canada (DUC). Since purchasing the Bayou Club, Fred and Bill have
generously supported several education, conservation, and research
initiatives throughout the Long Point area.
On October 18th,
Fred and Bill hosted a Gentlemen’s Fundraising Dinner in support of the
Long Point Waterfowl and Wetlands Research Fund (LPWWRF). Twenty
individuals attended the dinner, including five former DUC Presidents
and Bird Studies Canada's President, Dr. George Finney. Through
auctions and donations, the group raised an impressive $80,000 in one
evening. LPWWRF will use these funds to help support various research
programs, including scaup satellite tracking and research pertaining to
the use of Mallard henhouses. We would like to thank Fred and Bill, and
all the other attendees for their generosity. We would also like to
thank Rob and Doreen Bennell, whose efforts
made the evening a resounding success.
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