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9 November 2007 
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Kirtland’s Warbler Pair Breeds in Canada

Photo: Department of National Defense

1 November 2007 – This summer, scientists were thrilled to confirm a pair of Kirtland’s Warblers breeding in Ontario. The pair nested at Canadian Forces Base Petawawa in eastern Ontario. This is the first time since 1945 that this critically endangered species has been detected breeding in Canada, and the first time ever that an actual nest has been located in Canada. The family group was carefully trapped and colour banded.
   To protect the breeding birds from potential disturbance, their existence and location remained a closely guarded secret until recently, when the birds migrated to the Bahamas for the winter. The nest and two unviable eggs that were left behind have been donated to the Royal Ontario Museum, with the permission of Environment Canada.
   The Kirtland’s Warbler does not normally breed outside of Michigan, but this year in addition to the Petawawa nest, others were found in Wisconsin. The population has been slowly recovering from its all-time low of about 200 in the 1970s, and with confirmed nesting in these new locations in 2007, we hope to see the population continue to expand in the years to come.

Funding Available for Loon Research

29 October 2007 – LoonWatch, a program of the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute at Wisconsin’s Northland College, is accepting grant proposals for the 2008 Sigurd T. Olson Loon Research Award. Since 1986, the award has provided funding for original research that leads to better understanding and management of loon populations. The award will be designated for research on any Gavia species that will be conducted in North America during the 2008 calendar year. The maximum grant is $2,000. The proposal deadline is December 3, 2007 and the award winner will be notified by January 31, 2008. For more information, visit the LoonWatch website,  e-mail loonwatch@northland.edu, or call 715-682-1220.

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        NATIONAL

 

BSC Launches New Toll-Free Number for French Inquiries

9 November 2007 – Good news! Bird Studies Canada has launched a toll-free number for BSC members and the general public who would like to speak with us in French. The new number is 1-866-518-0212. All calls to this number will be accepted by Catherine Poussart, BSC’s Québec Projects Coordinator. Callers to our other existing phone numbers, 519-586-3531 and 1-888-448-2473, can press “4” from the main switchboard to receive service in French. Please do not hesitate to contact us! People in the Greater Québec City area can also reach Catherine Poussart using her local phone number, 418-649-6062.

ÉOC a un nouveau numéro de téléphone sans frais pour répondre aux demandes en français

le 9 novembre 2007 – Bonne nouvelle! Études d’Oiseaux Canada (ÉOC) a maintenant un numéro de téléphone sans frais pour ses membres et les personnes qui voudraient s’adresser en français. Le numéro de téléphone est le 1-866-518-0212. Tous les appels seront reçus par Catherine Poussart, coordonnatrice des projets pour le Québec. L’option de poursuivre la conversation en français est également disponible à partir des numéros de téléphones existants, 519-586-3531 et 1-888-448-2473. N’hésitez pas à nous contacter! Les personnes habitant la grande région de Québec peuvent également joindre Catherine Poussart à son numéro local, (418) 649-6062.

Atwood and Gibson Advocate for Grenada Dove at Literary Award Ceremony

6 November 2007 – This week when the Giller Prize was awarded as part of a gala at Toronto’s Four Seasons Hotel, two prominent guests declined to partake in the gourmet feast provided, choosing instead to dine on a home-made meal they had brought with them. Authors Margaret Atwood and Graeme Gibson, who are the Honourary Presidents of BirdLife International’s Rare Bird Club, abstained from the meal in protest of a Four Seasons resort under development in Grenada’s Mount Hartman National Park. The park contains one of the last strongholds of the critically endangered Grenada Dove, less than 180 of which remain in the world. Visit the Grenada Dove Campaign website to learn more.
   “Until there is a fair resolution of the dispute over the kind of resort being built in Grenada, we cannot accept food or drink from the Four Seasons,” Mr. Gibson told reporters at the event on Tuesday evening, while Four Seasons CEO Isadore Sharp dined at a nearby table.

eBird Canada is One Year Old!

1 November 2007 – A year ago Bird Studies Canada launched eBird Canada in partnership with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and it has been a fantastic year of rapid growth and many improvements to this popular program. eBird now has more than 100,000 checklists and over a million bird records from Canada! eBird is a web-based program for reporting bird sightings; the data can be freely used by birders, naturalists, and biologists around the world to map the distribution of birds, monitor bird population trends, analyze the timing of migrations, and a myriad of other uses. It even functions as a list-keeping program for birders. New additions to the program include a Google Gadget that lets you know when rare birds are reported in Canada, a feature for uploading existing bird sightings databases, and a mapping tool that makes reporting your checklists much easier. We will soon add subprovincial regions such as counties and regional districts to eBird Canada so that you can generate checklists and lifelists from more focused areas. To get involved, simply go to www.ebird.ca.

The EJLB Foundation Supports Christmas Bird Count in Canada

1 November 2007 – For the third year in a row, The EJLB Foundation has awarded BSC an environmental grant of $10,000 for the Christmas Bird Count program.  The Christmas Bird Count is one of the world’s oldest and largest organized birding events. Results from the counts provide important insight into bird population trends, informing conservation efforts and species assessments. BSC is extremely grateful to The EJLB Foundation for their generous ongoing support.

SCO Calls for D.H. Speirs Award Nominations

1 November 2007 – The Doris Huestis Speirs Award is the most prestigious award given by the Society of Canadian Ornithologists. It is presented annually to an individual who has made outstanding lifetime contributions to Canadian ornithology. Past awardees include professionals who work at museums, government agencies, private companies and universities, as well as amateur ornithologists.
   Nominations will be accepted until June 1, 2008, and may be sent to: Dr. Marty Leonard, Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 4J1. For more information on the award, visit the SCO website, e-mail mleonard@dal.ca, or call (902) 494-2158.

Canada’s National News Program Airs “Bye Bye Birdie” Documentary

31 October 2007 – Inspired by Audubon’s Summer 2007 “Common Birds in Decline” report, the new Canadian Broadcasting Corporation documentary “Bye Bye Birdie” offers a Canadian perspective on the state of North America’s bird populations. Canadian BirdLife partners Bird Studies Canada and Nature Canada are featured prominently in the piece, which aired on The National on Wednesday, October 31.
   Reporter Joan Leishman interviewed Ted Cheskey of Nature Canada and Stuart Mackenzie of Bird Studies Canada. Mackenzie, the Landbird Programs Coordinator for the Long Point Bird Observatory, spoke about how migration monitoring across Canada is helping scientists to derive North American bird population trends, while Cheskey discussed how modern trends in farming, forestry, and housing are destroying tens of millions of common birds in North America.
   Visit the website for The National to watch the 13-minute documentary online.
 

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BC Breeding Bird Atlas Hires Coordinator and Assistant Coordinator

Photo: Peter Davidson

9 November 2007 – The British Columbia Breeding Bird Atlas Steering Committee is excited and delighted to announce the hiring of the project’s Coordinator, Dr. Rob Butler (above left), and Assistant Coordinator, Christopher Di Corrado (above right). Both will be employed by Bird Studies Canada in the BC regional office, housed with the Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) at the Pacific Wildlife Research Centre in Delta, and funded through grants from BC’s Ministry of Environment, the Canadian Wildlife Service, and Environment Canada’s Science Horizons program. Their roles will involve coordinating atlassing in BC’s 41 Atlas sub-regions, and building a solid foundation for the project to develop from, including working closely with the regional coordinator network and providing training workshops throughout the province.
   Rob has been part of the BC birding scene for four decades, and brings over 30 years of experience in wildlife research, conservation, interpretation, public speaking, media relations, and fundraising with government and academia. He has authored scores of scientific papers and books, is president and founder of the Pacific Wildlife Foundation, and has an extensive network of contacts spanning the volunteer, government, and private sectors. He also paints birds (of course). Rob remarks “I’m really excited to embark on this new adventure, which in a lot of ways will involve getting back to my volunteer naturalist roots.”
   Christopher has a BSc in Natural Resource Management from the University of Northern BC, and Diplomas in Integrated Resource Management and Fish and Wildlife Management from Sault St. Marie, Ontario. He is no stranger to atlassing, having worked on the South Peace Bird Atlas in northeast BC and contributed to the second Ontario Atlas. He has also conducted Piping Plover monitoring and awareness work in Michigan, and bird and mammal surveys for NGOs and government agencies in Ontario, Saskatchewan, and BC, including Spotted Owl research for the BC Ministry of Environment. He is a very well travelled birder, whose breadth of knowledge extends well beyond Canada’s borders.

BSC Atlantic Staff Attend Meeting of International Bicknell’s Thrush Conservation Group

1 November 2007 – BSC’s Atlantic Region staff Becky Whittam and Greg Campbell travelled to Vermont this week for the inaugural meeting of the International Bicknell’s Thrush Technical Working Group at the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historic Park in Woodstock, Vermont. The international group focused on actions needed to address conservation concerns for this species of concern, as well as methods of improving surveys of high-elevation birds in the northeastern U.S., Québec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick.
   The meeting was sponsored by the Vermont Center for Ecostudies,  Bird Studies Canada, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Northeast Region.
   Information about BSC’s work on the Bicknell’s Thrush is available on the BSC website.  Stay tuned for an international conservation and science strategy for this imperiled bird.

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