Is Botulism Back?
9 November 2005 - For four
consecutive years between 1999-2002, Type E botulism caused major
die-offs of fish and waterbirds in the Lake Erie basin. The recent
recovery of about 200 Common Loon carcasses along Long Point sandspit on
the north shore of Lake Erie over the last week suggests that another
botulism outbreak is materializing. The Long Point Waterfowl and
Wetlands Research Fund, in partnership with the Canadian Wildlife
Service, is collecting dead loons and diving ducks as they wash up on
Long Point for testing of the pathogen and for other analyses. Since the
die-off is similar to previous years in terms of species composition and
timing, evidence clearly points to avian botulism. Stay tuned for
updates in future issues of Latest News. For more information about the
current situation, contact Jack Saunders at Environment Canada,
416-739-4785.
Maritimes Atlas to be
Officially Launched
9 November 2005 -Thirty-five of the
Maritimes’ best birdwatchers will meet this weekend to prepare for one
of the most intensive wildlife research projects ever undertaken in
Atlantic Canada. The event, to be held at the Memramcook Institute,
marks the official launch of the Maritimes Breeding Bird Atlas, a
volunteer-driven initiative to assess important trends in the population
of native birds in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island.
This weekend’s workshop is designed to brief regional coordinators, who
will be responsible for organizing the volunteer effort in their
particular part of the Maritimes. Individuals who would like to
participate in the Atlas process can learn more by visiting the
project website where online
registration capability will be available very soon.
Trente-cinq des meilleurs observateurs d’oiseaux des Maritimes vont se
rencontrer cette fin de semaine afin de préparer une des études
fauniques les plus intensives jamais entreprises au Canada atlantique.
La rencontre, qui aura lieu à l’Institut Memramcook, souligne le
lancement officiel de l’Atlas des oiseaux nicheurs des Maritimes, une
initiative bénévole qui a pour but de déterminer les tendances
principales chez les populations des oiseaux indigènes du
Nouveau-Brunswick, de la Nouvelle-Écosse et de l’Île-du-Prince-Édouard.
L’atelier de cette fin de semaine a été préparé afin d’informer les
coordonnateurs régionaux, qui seront responsables de l’organisation des
efforts des bénévoles dans leur propre région des Maritimes. Les gens
qui aimeraient participer à l’étude peuvent se renseigner en consultant
le site Web de l’étude
www.mba-aom.ca/) où ils pourront trouver très bientôt comment
s’inscrire en ligne.
Scaup
Movements on Track
8 November 2005 - This past spring,
researchers with the Long Point Waterfowl and Wetlands Research Fund (LPWWRF)
captured six female Lesser Scaup at Long Point, ON and implanted
them with satellite transmitters to track their seasonal movements.
Three of these birds, known as CB, Mussel Muncher, and Henrietta, have
begun their fall migration and recently put hundreds of kilometres on
their new flight feathers. CB departed from her last known location in
northern Ontario sometime after 16 October and returned to Inner Long
Point Bay on Lake Erie around 23 October. As of 6 November, CB is
still floating on the choppy waters of the Inner Bay with about 30,000
other scaup. Mussel Muncher spent most of October on the north end of
Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba, but on 5 November she was detected in the Bay
of Quinte on Lake Ontario, in the same general area she used this past
spring during migration. Henrietta also started to make her way back
toward the lower Great Lakes during the month of October. Henrietta is
now in the extreme southeastern corner of Saskatchewan patiently
awaiting a cold front and favorable winds to carry her to the next stop
on her annual journey. Be sure to keep a watchful eye on Scaup Tracker
by clicking here
as the fall migration progresses. Also be sure to check out the LPWWRF
website for new information on upcoming plans to track scaup in 2006 and
to learn how you can help with the study of migration ecology of Lesser
and Greater scaup by becoming a
Scaup Sponsor.
Eaglet Spotted in Indiana
8 November 2005 - It's a bird, it's a plane, no it's ... Tilson?! On 24
October Bill McCoy, project manager for the Patoka River National
Wildlife Refuge and Wildlife Management Area in Indiana, spotted
satellite-tagged Bald Eagle, Tilson, sitting on a dam in the Wabash
River along the Indiana and Illinois border. McCoy and refuge employee
Bob Dodd were touring the backside of Cinergy's Gibson Generating
Station, the third largest coal-fired power plant in the United States,
when they noticed the young eagle. McCoy was particularly interested in
what looked like a thick blade of grass sticking up behind the young
bird. When Tilson took flight, he and Dodd could clearly see the antenna
sticking out from between the bird’s wings. McCoy eventually tracked
down BSC’s Bald Eagle Program Biologist, Dawn Laing, who was able to
share information about this young bird. As it turns out, two eaglets
had hatched from a nest at the power plant this year, and locals
believed immature eagles in the area were locally hatched birds.
To learn more about Destination
Eagle and to track eagles online,
click here.
Cave Swallows Invade Ontario
8 November 2005 - Ontario and much
of the northeastern United States is experiencing what appears to be the
largest invasion ever of Cave Swallows. This species breeds in the
American south and, in the last decade, has become increasingly more
frequent in late fall in the northeast. Here at Long Point, ON, Cave
Swallows have been seen several times since 1999. Late last week,
birders near Rochester, NY reported close to 600 Cave Swallows, which
immediately put everyone in Ontario on notice that a major invasion had
occurred.
Since the Lake Ontario sightings, 47
Cave Swallows have been observed in the Long Point area. Given the size
of this invasion, more sightings might be expected over the next few
days in southern Ontario (one was found as far north as Algonquin Park
this week). If you're out for a walk, keep an eye out for swallows
flying by. This late in the migration, they are almost as likely to be
Caves as Tree Swallows. Cave Swallows look a lot like Cliff Swallows
with the pale rump and square tail but their foreheads are chestnut
rather than buff in colouration and, more importantly, their throats,
which are much easier to see, are cinnamon-coloured rather than the
sharply demarcated chestnut of Cliff Swallows.
Return to Top of Page
