Latest COSEWIC
Assessments Completed
Olive-sided
Flycatcher © Ralph Hocken
7
December 2007 – The Committee on the Status of Endangered
Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) met in Ottawa, Ontario, November 28-30,
2007. Among the attendees was BSC’s BC Program Manager Dick Cannings,
who is the co-chair of the birds subcommittee.
At last week’s meetings,
assessments of the conservation status of 15 species were completed,
including the Olive-sided Flycatcher, which was assessed as
Threatened because of a long-term decline in numbers. Similar to
some other recently assessed birds that feed on flying insects and
winter in South America, the cause of the decline is unclear.
Assessment summaries are
currently available on the
COSEWIC website and will be submitted to the Federal
Minister of the Environment in August 2008 for listing consideration
under the Species at Risk Act. At that time, the full status reports
will be publicly available on the
Species at Risk Public
Registry.
It’s Christmas Bird
Count Season!
7
December 2007 – The annual Christmas Bird Count season is
fast approaching! Between December 14, 2007 and January 5, 2008,
Canadian birders will join nature enthusiasts across the western
hemisphere participating in North America’s longest-running winter
birding tradition.
This year, over 2,000
individual counts will take place throughout the Americas and
beyond. During last year’s count, about 70 million birds were
tallied by nearly 58,000 volunteers across the continent – a record
level of participation. In Canada, 11,653 participants counted over
3.5 million birds on a record-high 371 counts.
"Each CBC volunteer observer
is an important contributor, helping to shape the overall direction
of bird conservation," says Dick Cannings, BSC’s Christmas Bird
Count Coordinator. "Bird Studies Canada and our partners at the
National Audubon Society in the United States rely on data from the
CBC database to monitor bird populations across North America."
Visit
Audubon’s website
to view count data for the winter of 2007-2008 in near real-time, or
to visit a count from the past. For more information about the
program in Canada or counts in your area, visit
BSC’s website
or email Dick Cannings at
dickcannings@shaw.ca.
Reminder of Upcoming Baillie Fund Grant Deadlines
7
December 2007 – Bird Studies Canada’s Baillie Fund
program provides grants for research, education, and conservation
projects that advance the understanding, appreciation, and
conservation of Canadian birds. Does your club or organization have
a project that fits these guidelines? The deadline for Regular Grant
applications is next week – December 15, 2007. The deadline for the
Small Grant Program, which is open to individuals and organizations,
is January 15, 2008. Applications and additional information are
available by
selecting
this link, or by contacting Audrey Heagy,
aheagy@bsc-eoc.org,
1-888-448-2473, ext. 243.
Return to Top of Page
