Employment and Volunteer Opportunities
17 April 2009
– There are currently several field research positions and volunteer
opportunities with various BSC programs. Visit our
Job Opportunities
web page for more
information.
Canadian Lakes Loon Survey Seeks Participants
Photo:
Sandra & Frank Horvath
17 April 2009 – The
Canadian
Lakes Loon Survey (CLLS)
2009 season is fast approaching, and participants are needed
throughout Canada. The CLLS provides a great opportunity for lake
users and cottage owners to support research and conservation
activities. CLLS participants visit and survey their lake at least
three times (once in June, once in July, and once in August), record
the number of Common Loon pairs, and track each pair’s breeding
success. In addition, participants record other birds seen on or
near the lake. Each participant receives a full package that
includes instructions and simple forms. After the season is
complete, participants return the forms to Bird Studies Canada or
enter the information into the CLLS online database.
Anyone who
spends time on a Canadian lake and is interested in participating
can contact Kathy Jones at aqsurvey@birdscanada.org or by phone at
1-888-448-2473 ext. 124, or
register online.
The CLLS is a self-supporting program, so you must hold an active
Bird Studies Canada membership to participate.
Select this link to view the program brochure.
Financial Assistance
Available for BBS Triple-headers in Northern Ontario!
16 April 2009
– Are you interested in a northern Ontario birding experience that
contributes to boreal bird conservation? Are you good at “birding by
ear” and able to very quickly identify birds by sight and sound? Are
you available for a week in June? This opportunity may be for you!
A
special incentive program is being launched this year to increase
Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) coverage in under-surveyed areas in
Ontario. The BBS will reimburse travel expenses for skilled birders
who agree to run three or more BBS routes in Ontario’s boreal forest
region for a minimum of three years. This BBS travel assistance
program is being coordinated by Bird Studies Canada, in cooperation
with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment
Canada. For more information on this new travel assistance program
contact Audrey Heagy, Ontario BBS Coordinator, at
aheagy@birdscanada.org,
or 1-888-448-2473 ext. 166.
Surveyors may also be needed to run BBS
routes elsewhere in Canada. (We cannot reimburse travel costs for
single routes or in other regions, but can provide a tax receipt for
mileage and out-of-pocket expenses). Detailed information on the
Canada-wide BBS program and contact information for the local BBS
coordinator in your region can be found on the
Canadian BBS website.
Congratulations, Dr. Artuso!
15 April 2009 – Bird Studies Canada’s
Manitoba Projects Manager Christian Artuso has successfully
completed his Ph.D. at the University of Manitoba, Department of
Environment and Geography. His doctoral thesis, entitled Life on the
Edge: The Eastern Screech-Owl in Winnipeg, examined the population
density, reproduction, habitat selection, and diet of Eastern
Screech-Owls at the northern periphery of the species’ range, in
areas ranging from urban to wildlands. Christian’s research found
that population density peaked in medium-density suburbs (home to
about 20 people per hectare). These suburban screech-owls also had
more young per nesting attempt, earlier fledging dates, and a more
diverse diet than owls in rural areas.
Several chapters of this
thesis have already been accepted for publication, and others will
be submitted in the near future. Christian continues to monitor
nesting owls (especially Eastern Screech-Owl and Great Horned Owl)
in urban, suburban, and rural areas around Winnipeg to further
document how they react to urbanization. Christian’s main priorities
now are BSC projects in Manitoba, especially our
Golden-winged
Warbler surveys
and the Manitoba Breeding Bird Atlas, which are rapidly gaining
momentum.
NSERC Funding
Tara Crewe Photo: Paul Gagnon. Stu Mackenzie
Photo: Eric Martinez.
15 April 2009 – Bird Studies Canada is pleased
to announce that two graduate students with strong BSC affiliations
have been awarded funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering
Research Council of Canada (NSERC). Tara Crewe, BSC’s Bird
Conservation Biologist, recently received an NSERC Postgraduate
Scholarship for Doctoral research, with a value of $42,000 over 24
months. Tara will begin her Ph.D. at the University of Western
Ontario in September 2009, with Dr. Phil Taylor (Acadia University)
and Dr. Chris Guglielmo (University of Western Ontario) as
co-supervisors. Integrating a variety of data sources, Tara’s work
will explore the processes that influence the observed pattern of
population change at migration monitoring sites, which is necessary
to make more accurate assessments of actual population change.
Stu
Mackenzie, M.Sc. candidate at the University of Western Ontario and
former Landbird Programs Coordinator for the Long Point Bird
Observatory (LPBO), has been awarded an Alexander Graham Bell Canada
Graduate Scholarship from NSERC in the amount of $17,500 over 12
months. Using an automated radio telemetry array, extensive ground
searches, LPBO migration monitoring data, and mark-recapture models,
Stu is conducting research on the effects of age on local emigration
and stopover decisions of migratory songbirds at Long Point, and
investigating how stopover decisions may vary with factors such as
body condition, daily weather, site, and time.
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