PPMMP Update
30 May 2008 – In January we
announced the expansion of Bird Studies Canada’s Marsh Monitoring
Program (MMP) into the Prairie provinces, and the hiring of Prairie
Region MMP Coordinator Dr. Kiel Drake to establish and develop the
program in this important ecological region of Canada. Since then the
Steering Committee for the Prairie & Parkland Marsh Monitoring Program (PPMMP)
has defined the focus and direction of the PPMMP and identified a course
of action. The initial Bird Studies Canada-Wildlife Habitat Canada
partnership to further wetland conservation efforts has grown to include
Ducks Unlimited Canada, the Institute for Wetlands and Waterfowl
Research, and federal and provincial agencies.
We are pleased to report that
pilot studies currently being conducted at sites near Beaverhill, AB,
and Dana Hills, SK, are helping to work out logistics and sampling
protocols. To learn more about the program, visit our new
PPMMP web page, or contact Dr. Kiel Drake at (306)
249-2894 or
kdrake@birdscanada.org.
Québec and Great
Lakes MMPs: It’s Bird and Habitat Time!
29 May 2008 – Attention MMP volunteers
in Québec and Ontario: if you have not done so already, it is now time
to conduct your first Marsh Bird Monitoring survey of 2008. Also a
reminder that now is the time to fill out your annual Habitat
Description forms, before the cattails and phragmites are too high to
see over. The instruction guide and all forms are available online;
visit our website for
Great Lakes
MMP materials or
Québec
materials. If you need to replace your copy of the Marsh Habitat
and Vegetation Guide, you can purchase it from our
online shop,
and the proceeds help cover the cost of printing, shipping, and handling
(sorry, only English copies are available). If you have questions, or if
you are unable to complete your 2008 survey, contact Catherine Poussart
(cpoussart@birdscanada.org)
for the Québec program or Kathy Jones (aqsurvey@birdscanada.org)
for the Great Lakes program. Finally, volunteers are still needed to
survey some Québec marshes, so if you are interested, please contact
Catherine Poussart (1-866-518-0212 or 418-649-6062).
Le PSM du Québec
et des Grands Lacs: l’heure est venue d’inventorier les oiseaux et de
décrire l’habitat!
Le 29 mai 2008 – Attention chers
participants volontaires du Programme de surveillance des marais (PSM)
du Québec et de l’Ontario. Si vous ne l’avez pas encore fait, il est
temps de procéder à votre premier inventaire d’oiseaux des marais de la
saison 2008. Un petit rappel qu’il est également le temps de compléter
votre formulaire annuel de la description de l’habitat, avant que les
quenouilles et les roseaux ne soient trop grands et ne réduisent votre
champ de vision. Les manuels d’instructions et les feuilles de prise de
données du programme sont disponibles en ligne; visitez nos pages
Internet pour obtenir le matériel du
PSM des
Grands Lacs ou celui du
PSM du Québec. Si vous avez besoin de remplacer votre exemplaire
du Guide sur les habitats et la végétation des marais (disponible en
anglaise seulement), vous pouvez vous en procurer une copie en
l’achetant en
ligne. Les coûts permettent de couvrir les frais
d’impression, d’expédition et de manutention. Si vous avez des
questions, ou si vous êtes dans l’impossibilité de compléter vos
inventaires en 2008, contactez Catherine Poussart (cpoussart@bsc-eoc.org)
pour le programme du Québec ou Kathy Jones (aqsurvey@bsc-eoc.org)
pour le programme des Grands Lacs. Et finalement, des participants
volontaires sont encore nécessaires pour inventorier certains marais du
Québec. Si cela vous intéresse, contactez Catherine Poussart (sans frais
1-866-518-0212 ou 418-649-6062).
Ontario
Atlassers: Do You Miss Atlassing?
21 May 2008 – This message is to all
Ontario atlassers who miss attacking a square, covering all different
habitats, and recording everything they see and hear on their breeding
evidence forms. The Maritimes Atlas wants you! We are about to kick off
our third atlas season in the Maritimes, and would love to have you join
us. There are several squares in some of our more remote regions that
could use your help, including some beautiful regions in northern New
Brunswick, Cape Breton, and southwestern Nova Scotia. If you are
interested in atlassing or doing point counts in any of these areas,
please call the Atlas office (1-866-5ATLAS5) or contact the regional
coordinator in your preferred region directly. Check out the
Atlas website
for details about regions and a complete list of regional coordinators.
We look forward to seeing you this summer!
LPWWRF Graduate
Student Receives OFAH Scholarship Award
Photo: Jeff Helsdon
20 May 2008 – David Messmer recently
received a scholarship award from the Ontario Federation of Anglers and
Hunters. David began his M.Sc. at the University of Western Ontario in
January 2008 under the supervision of Dr. Scott Petrie, Executive
Director of the Long Point Waterfowl and Wetlands Research Fund. David
is studying the ecological factors that affect the settling patterns of
breeding waterfowl in southern Ontario. His methods include helicopter
surveys of breeding waterfowl, and habitat and geographic information
systems (GIS) analysis of this information. The goal of his research
project is to determine which ecological variables most strongly
influence the presence of breeding waterfowl, thereby guiding habitat
protection and restoration programs in the region. Dave completed his
B.Sc. at SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry in 2006, and prior to
beginning at UWO, worked as a research technician on several natural
resource studies throughout North America.
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