Long Point
Bird Observatory Wraps up its 49th Season
Snowy
Plover Photo: Ron Ridout Common Ground Dove Photo: Stuart Mackenzie
18 December 2008 – The
Long Point Bird Observatory
(LPBO) closed its nets on November 15, completing the 49th year
of migration monitoring at North America’s oldest and most productive
bird observatory. The fall season kicked off at the beginning of August
with a Young Ornithologists’ Workshop. This was followed by the Young
Ornithologist Internship in mid-August. Three Latin American trainees
joined us shortly thereafter for most of the season, two from Mexico and
one from Ecuador. Over 75 dedicated LPBO volunteers helped deliver an
average numbers year, with nearly 20,000 birds of about 150 species
banded during the standard period: 10,168 in the spring and 9667 in the
fall. On April 7, LPBO banded its 750,000th bird, becoming the first
station in North America to achieve such a feat.
The spring was loaded with
rarities, including Long Point’s first Fish Crow at the Tip on May 19,
and our third Snowy Plover in the Provincial Park on May 16. The fall
did not disappoint, with two new species for Long Point, both on
November 1: a Boreal Owl banded at the Tip, and a Common Ground-Dove
along the point. You may learn all about these and other sightings from
this year’s migration on the
LPBO Sightings Board.
In addition, the Thunder Bay
Field Naturalists’ and Bird Studies Canada’s Thunder Cape Bird
Observatory (TCBO) also completed its 18th year, banding 7333 birds –
3812 in the spring and 3521 in the fall. These totals included TCBO’s
second-ever White-winged Dove (which was their first banded in the
spring), and their first-ever Townsend’s Warbler (it was banded in the
fall)!
BC Atlas Maps
Online
17 December 2008 – The
British Columbia
Breeding Bird Atlas is pleased to announce that online species
maps are now available. The maps were produced by Andrew Couturier,
BSC’s Senior Analyst, Landscape Ecology and Conservation, using the
43,000 records provided by volunteer atlassers for the BC project in
2008. The species maps reveal all the great atlassing fun had by project
participants in the first field season, and places the BC atlas team
needs to reach in 2009.
Visit the
Bird Maps
section of the BC Breeding Bird Atlas website to view the maps. You can
look at the distributions (so far) of your favourite species on maps for
the north, south, and entire province. The maps also give a taste of
what we hope to achieve over the next few years.
We extend our thanks to all
atlassers for the BC project for your help, and we look forward to more
great birding in 2009.
NS Piping
Plover Update
Piping Plover
Photo: Linda Ross
16
December 2008 – This year, staff and volunteers from Bird
Studies Canada, Environment Canada’s Canadian Wildlife Service, the Nova
Scotia Department of Natural Resources, the Nova Scotia Department of
Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal, and community groups
conducted over 500 surveys for the endangered Piping Plover on 56 Nova
Scotia beaches. In total, 44 pairs were counted on 24 beaches, and 43
were monitored.
In northern Nova Scotia, the
average Piping Plover productivity for 2008 was 2.1 fledglings per pair.
This was similar to recent years, even though plovers in Pictou and
Antigonish counties produced less than half the 2007 number of
fledglings, largely due to nest loss from human disturbance and
predation. Cape Breton’s plovers had another successful year.
At an average of 2.0 fledglings
per pair, 2008 was one of the better years on record for southern Nova
Scotia. Protective fencing for eggs helped reduce predation, so more
nests hatched than in 2007 (although predation problems gave plovers on
Martinique Beach a poor year). Three nests were saved from flooding by
high tides using sandbags and, in one extreme case, nest translocation.
Select this link to learn more
about Bird Studies Canada’s
Nova
Scotia Piping Plover Conservation Program. We thank all of our
partners and volunteers for supporting Piping Plover conservation
efforts in 2008, and we look forward to working with you again in 2009!
BSC Tracking
Short-eared Owls This Winter
16 December 2008 – Bird Studies Canada
is entering its sixth season of Short-eared Owl monitoring in Ontario,
and is part of an international group of North American and European
researchers working to learn more about this poorly understood species.
Short-eared Owls are classified as a species of Special Concern in
Canada, and appear to be declining across their global range. Bird
Studies Canada is having great success with satellite tracking; an owl
that was equipped with a satellite transmitter last winter has returned
to within 20 km of her winter home.
This year, through funding from
the Shell Environmental Fund, TD Friends of the Environment, and Ontario
Ministry of Natural Resources – Species at Risk Stewardship Program, we
will deploy two more satellite transmitters and up to five radio
transmitters. The use of satellite transmitters enables researchers to
follow the owl’s movements across a large geographic area and over a
long time period, whereas the radio transmitters will supply information
on small-scale movements and habitat use on the wintering grounds.
In addition to radio and
satellite tracking, BSC is asking birders to report any sightings of
Short-eared Owls this winter to
hwheeler@birdscanada.org.
Data from this study will help us identify seasonal habitats occupied by
the owl, and important breeding and wintering sites. Updates on our
satellite tracked owls will be available through our
Owl Tracker.
Long Point
Waterfowl Offers Hochbaum’s “To Ride the Wind”
15 December 2008 – Long Point Waterfowl
is pleased to offer the classic work of waterfowl literature “To Ride
the Wind” by H. Albert Hochbaum, a pioneer of waterfowl research, art,
and writing. Richard Bonnycastle, a long-time waterfowl research and
management philanthropist, has generously donated 5000 copies of the
book to Long Point Waterfowl, to support our research and conservation
efforts. Proceeds will help Long Point Waterfowl in our endeavours to
train future resource management professionals, and instill in youth a
keen interest in wildlife ecology, resource conservation and management,
and our hunting heritage. The book and plates have been reproduced in a
beautiful 120-page coffee table format.
To purchase ($40 plus $10
shipping and handling), use the
attached order form, or visit
our website.
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