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8 May 2009 
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BSC Members Invited on Birding Tour of Cuba

Cuban Pygmy-Owl Photo: Ron Ridout

8 May 2009 – Together with Eagle-Eye Tours, Bird Studies Canada is pleased to offer an exclusive members’ trip to Cuba. This wonderful tropical island boasts golden beaches, extensive wetlands, subtropical rainforests, temperate mountains, superb wildlife refuges and parks, and wonderful and easy birding, with lots of endemics. Featured birds include the Bee Hummingbird, Cuban Tody, Cuban Trogon, Giant Kingbird, Cuban Solitaire, and many more!
   The trip will take place February 15-27, 2010, and will be led by biologist Paul Prior, a former Bird Studies Canada employee who has worked for the Toronto Region Conservation Authority since 2000. The fee is $3995 CDN from Havana. For more information, visit the Eagle-Eye Tours website or contact Eagle-Eye Tours at 1-800-373-5678 or travel@eagle-eye.com.

Onik Arian Warbler Research Fund

1 May 2009 – Onik Arian, a long-time friend of Ontario’s birds and birders, passed away on December 14, 2008 in California. He was 61 years old. His untimely death represents a devastating loss to his family and to the many friends he made over the last 30 years of annual spring visits to Point Pelee. To honour Onik’s memory, his friends have set up the Onik Arian Warbler Research Fund. As the account beneficiary, Bird Studies Canada will issue charitable tax receipts to all donors, and the fund will support BSC’s warbler research.
   Royal Bank of Canada has set up a limited term account (open April 30-May 30 only) and is accepting cash donations as well as cheques, bank drafts, and money orders made out to “The Onik Arian Warbler Research Fund.” Donations may be mailed to The Onik Arian Warbler Research Fund c/o Nikki Voutsilakos, Branch Manager, Broadway & MacDonald Branch, Royal Bank of Canada, 2490 MacDonald Street, Vancouver, BC, V6K 3Z1.
   If you prefer to donate to this fund through BSC directly, or for any donations after May 30, you can make out a cheque to Bird Studies Canada and mail it to us at 115 Front Road, P.O. Box 160, Port Rowan, Ontario, N0E 1M0 (please be sure to specify that the money is for the Onik Arian Warbler Research Fund). Online donations to the fund will be accepted through the CanadaHelps website. 

BSC Joins RPI Partnership

1 May 2009 – BSC is pleased to announce that we have officially joined as a full partner of the Raptor Population Index partnership, a group that also includes the Hawk Migration Association of North America, Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, and HawkWatch International. The RPI Project was conceived to contribute to conservation by using raptor migration counts to produce assessments of population status to be shared widely through public outreach and education. BSC’s roles will include the development of analytical methods and tools for analyzing population trends based on migration counts, and promotion of the RPI approach as a method for monitoring raptor populations.

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Two More Birds Recommended as Species at Risk in Canada

Horned Grebe Photo: Jim Flynn

4 May 2009 – The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) has recommended that two more bird species be added to Canada’s list of species at risk: Horned Grebe and Whip-poor-will. Last assessed by COSEWIC 10 years ago, Roseate Tern and Least Bittern were also reconfirmed as Endangered and Threatened, respectively.
   Over 90% of the Horned Grebe’s North American breeding range is in Canada. A status of Special Concern has been recommended for the core of its breeding range in western Canada, while the small, disjunct population that inhabits the Magdalene Islands in Québec has been recommended as Endangered. Loss and degradation of wetland habitats, coupled with off-shore threats in staging areas and the wintering grounds, are thought to be responsible for declines seen in this species.
   The Whip-poor-will met COSEWIC’s criteria for Threatened status owing to significant population declines and range contractions that could be due to habitat loss and degradation and/or wide-scale changes in its insect prey base. A familiar forest species across eastern North America, it joins the growing list of other aerial insectivores designated as at risk in Canada (Common Nighthawk, Chimney Swift, Olive-sided Flycatcher, and Acadian Flycatcher).
   Jon McCracken, BSC’s Director of National Programs, co-chairs COSEWIC’s Birds Specialist Subcommittee. According to McCracken,“The addition of Whip-poor-will comes as no surprise to the many biologists, birders, cottagers, and other outdoor enthusiasts who have been signaling anecdotal, local declines of this species for at least two decades. Their perceptions have now been confirmed by results from broad-based surveys like the second Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas and the Breeding Bird Survey. The declines are widespread, severe, and quite inexplicable.”
   Visit the COSEWIC website to read their press release, or select this link for more detailed information about all the species assessed at the COSEWIC meeting, including plants, insects, mollusks, amphibians, fishes, birds, and mammals.

2009 Birdathon Events

1 May 2009 – There are various Baillie Birdathon events taking place across the country this month, beginning tomorrow with the 2009 Long Point Birdathon weekend at the Long Point Bird Observatory and Bird Studies Canada’s headquarters in Port Rowan, Ontario (contact birdathon@birdscanada.org for more information). The Meadowlark Festival in the south Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys of British Columbia is next week (May 14-18), and features over 80 events, including the 24^th Annual Okanagan Big Day Challenge on May 17. Visit the BSC website to find out about a Birdathon event near you.
   Whether or not you plan to attend one of these events, please register for Birdathon online to obtain your 2009 Participant’s Kit, and an official 2009 Birdathon t-shirt. Participants have great chances at winning some really fabulous prizes – a trip from Eagle-Eye Tours, a spotting scope from EagleOptics.ca, and many, many more. Select this link to check out the full list of 2009 Birdathon prizes.

Last Call for 2009 Speirs Award Nominations

1 May 2009 – The Doris Huestis Speirs Award is presented annually by the Society of Canadian Ornithologists (SCO) to an individual who has made outstanding lifetime contributions to Canadian ornithology. Nominations for the 2009 award are due by June 1 and should be sent to Dr. Marty Leonard, Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 4J1; telephone (902) 494-3540 or email mleonard@dal.ca. Please include supporting information that describes the nature and scope of the candidate’s contributions and impact in Canadian ornithology. Visit the SCO website for more information on the award and previous recipients.

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BSC Attends 12^th Annual Tofino Shorebird Festival

Photo: K. Barry

6 May 2009 – Karen Barry, BSC’s British Columbia Program Officer, attended the Tofino Shorebird Festival from May 1-3. The event is a celebration and educational initiative focused on the Tofino Mudflat Wildlife Management Area established in 1997, which is an Important Bird Area, in part because it hosts large numbers of shorebirds each spring and fall. Select this link for more information about the Tofino Mudflats.
   Festival events included seminars, guided birding walks, films, and some great shore-birding, including the opportunity to see one of the continent’s most rapidly dwindling species, the Red Knot. Karen hosted a BSC booth at an evening reception, and provided information to many interested west coast residents about volunteer opportunities with BSC.

BSC Staff Attend BC Nature AGM and Wings Over the Rockies Festival

6 May 2009 – British Columbia Breeding Bird Atlas staff Rob Butler and Christopher Di Corrado participated in the BC Nature AGM hosted by the Cowichan Valley Naturalists in Duncan May 1-3. Summer-like weather greeted birders and naturalists and provided a great chance for early atlassing. While many birders live in the surrounding area, one need only go 10 or 20 km to find squares with few or no records submitted. Between birding opportunities, Christopher answered questions, and shared information about how people of almost any skill level, anywhere in the province, can help.
   Dick Cannings, BSC’s Senior Project Biologist, is the keynote speaker at the 13^th annual Wings Over the Rockies Festival in Invermere, which runs from May 4-10. Dick will run an atlassing workshop on May 8, lead atlassing field trips on May 9 and 10 with Atlas Radium-Invermere Regional Coordinator Larry Halverson, and will deliver the main presentation on May 9 on “Why the World needs more Birders.”

Rob Butler Receives Nature Vancouver Award

6 May 2009 – Rob Butler, scientist and coordinator of the BC Breeding Bird Atlas, has received the Davidson Award for achievement by a Nature Vancouver member in the field of conservation. This award was established in 1993 in honour of the Nature Vancouver founder, Professor John Davidson, who was a vocal advocate of conservation.

Maritimes Atlas Planning Meeting

30 April 2009 – More than 20 Regional Coordinators for the Maritimes Breeding Bird Atlas  met with Atlas staff and steering committee members in Sackville, NB, April 18-19, 2009, to plan the upcoming field season. The bulk of the meeting was spent discussing 2009 priorities, which are to finish atlassing in priority squares; to complete 15 point counts in every priority square; and to begin/continue atlassing in remaining squares. The amount of work that went on in 2008 is absolutely phenomenal. Many coordinators could use more atlassers and point counters to help reach each region’s coverage goals. The atlas team is working to ensure the fourth field season is well-organized and successful. We thank all the coordinators for their hard work and for making the trek to Sackville for the meeting.

BSC Meets Members and New Friends at Toronto Green Living Show

30 April 2009 – Bird Studies Canada participated in the recent Green Living Show in Toronto, April 24-26. BSC was part of a bird-themed display that also included booths from our partners Nature Canada and BirdLife International. Our staff were pleased to connect with existing and potential supporters to discuss BSC’s work, and how our Citizen Science programs contribute to important biodiversity research and conservation in Canada and abroad. Congratulations to the lucky winners of our free draw! Andria Snowden of Burlington, Ontario, received the second prize, a copy of the Rare Birds Yearbook 2009. Paul Fisher of Tweed, Ontario, won the first prize, a pair of Denali binoculars from EagleOptics.ca.

New Coordinates for Dick Cannings

28 April 2009 – Dick Cannings, BSC’s Senior Project Biologist and coordinator for the Christmas Bird Count, eBird Canada, and BC Nocturnal Owl Survey programs, has moved. His new coordinates are: Dick Cannings, Bird Studies Canada, 705 Sunglo Drive, Penticton, BC, V2A 8X7; phone/fax 250-493-3393. He can still be reached via email at dcannings@birdscanada.org.

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