Saving Vultures

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29 April 2011 
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Saving Asia’s Vultures from Extinction

12 April 2011 – Three species of south Asia’s vultures are threatened with extinction. The White-rumped Vulture was so abundant in India in the 1980s that it was probably the most common large bird of prey in the world. Only one in a thousand now survives, a 99.9 per cent decline for this species.
   All three species – White-rumped, Indian, and the Slender-billed Vulture – have declined by more than 97 per cent since the early 1990s. This shocking decline is because of a veterinary drug, diclofenac, which is toxic to any vulture that feeds on the carcass of recently treated cattle. Watch the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds’ new video to find out more about the project and to meet the people who are saving Asia’s vultures from extinction.

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Announcing Birdathon’s 2011 Guest Birders

29 April 2011 – The 2011 Baillie Birdathon guest birders are Dick Cannings of Penticton, BC and Blake Maybank of White’s Lake, NS. While Dick records every species he can in the West, Blake will be on a similar quest in the East. They will scour the opposite sides of Canada to come up with a bi-national compilation of Canadian birds.
   If you would like to sponsor the Cannings/Maybank effort and support bird research and conservation, please visit this link.
   The Baillie Birdathon is a fantastic way to get out and enjoy spring migration while raising important funds to support bird research and conservation. All Birdathon participants receive an exclusive Baillie Birdathon t-shirt simply for registering. This year’s shirt features a wonderful image of a male Bobolink from photographer and ornithologist John Chardine of Sackville, NB. Participants also have great chances to win some fabulous prizes – join Dick and Blake and register yourself today!

Loon Surveys – Volunteers Needed

26 April 2011 – The Canadian Lakes Loon Survey (CLLS) 2011 season is fast approaching and participants are needed from across 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 may contact Kathy Jones at volunteer@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 BSC membership to participate. For more information, select this link to view the program brochure and/or to view a map of available Canadian lakes and their most recent survey year, select this link.

Canadian IBA Partners Meet in Port Rowan

19 April 2011 – Bird Studies Canada and Nature Canada, Canadian co-partners in BirdLife International, recently organized a meeting of the national and regional partners in the Important Bird Area (IBA) Program. The group of 19 met at BSC’s national headquarters in Port Rowan, adjacent to one of Canada’s most outstanding IBAs (Long Point). “We were also fortunate to welcome John Cecil (IBA Program Director, National Audubon Society) as our special guest, and to learn from the U.S. experience with IBAs,” said Andrew Couturier, Senior Analyst with BSC and meeting host. “We accomplished a great deal at the meeting and gained important momentum towards strengthening the scientific and technical foundations of the IBA Program.”
   The meeting was capped off by a field trip to North America’s longest running migration monitoring station, Long Point Bird Observatory, situated within the Long Point IBA and World Biosphere. Now is the perfect time to visit the IBA Canada website to learn more about IBAs and to get involved in monitoring and stewardship efforts that are underway across the country.

Les partenaires canadiens de IBA se réunissent à Port Rowan

19 avril 2011 – Études d’Oiseaux Canada (ÉOC) et Nature Canada, les copartenaires canadiens de BirdLife International, ont récemment tenu une réunion des partenaires nationaux et régionaux du Programme des Zones importantes pour la conservation des oiseaux (ZICO). La réunion, à laquelle 19 personnes ont assisté, a eu lieu à l’administration centrale nationale d’ÉOC à Port Rowan, qui se trouve près de l’une des plus exceptionnelles ZICO du Canada (Long Point). « Nous avons aussi eu la chance d’accueillir John Cecil (directeur du Programmes des ZICO, National Audubon Society) à titre d’invité spécial et de tirer des leçons de l’expérience américaine à l’égard des ZICO » a précisé Andrew Couturier, analyste principale à ÉOC et animateur de la réunion. « Beaucoup a été accompli à la réunion et nous avons réalisé d’importants progrès pour ce qui est de renforcer le fondement scientifique et technique du programme. »
   La réunion s’est achevée par une visite sur le terrain à l’Observatoire d’oiseaux de Long Point, la plus ancienne station de surveillance des migrations d’Amérique du Nord, qui est située dans la ZICO et la Réserve de la biosphère mondiale de Long Point. Consultez dès maintenant le site Web canadien des ZICO pour vous renseigner à leur sujet et savoir comment vous pouvez participer aux initiatives de surveillance et de gérance mises en œuvre à l’échelle du pays.

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Long Point Waterfowl Publishes a Mute Swan Paper

29 April 2011 - Long Point Waterfowl recently published a paper on elemental contaminants in Mute Swan livers from the lower Great Lakes area. Elements detected in livers at levels potentially harmful to waterfowl were copper and selenium. Declines in aluminum, selenium, and mercury concentrations were detected from spring (nesting) through winter (non-breeding). Elemental contaminants may be more available to waterfowl during spring than fall and winter, but study of seasonal availability of elements within the lower Great Lakes aquatic systems are necessary. From April to June, 68% of Mute Swans had selenium levels > 10 µg g-1, whereas only 18% of swans contained these elevated levels of selenium from July to March. An increase in the number of Mute Swans on the lower Great Lakes despite elevated levels of copper and selenium suggests that these burdens do not substantially limit their reproduction or survival. Selenium was correlated with copper and mercury, which might indicate interaction between these elements. Some element interactions reduce the toxicity of both elements involved in the interaction. We recommend continued research of elemental contaminant concentrations including detailed analyses of biological pathways and element forms (e.g., methyl mercury) in the lower Great Lakes waterfowl to help determine the role of element interactions on their toxicity in waterfowl. For an electronic copy of the paper, please e-mail tbarney@bsc-eoc.org.

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