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11 July 2008 
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Yemen Selects National Bird

Photo: BirdLife International/Richard Porter

3 July 2008, BirdLife International – The Yemen Council of Ministers has approved the Golden-winged Grosbeak as Yemen’s national bird. This colourful bird, with a huge beak for eating fruits and seeds, occurs in Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Yemen. Yemen has also chosen a national tree, a national plant, and a national mammal (the Arabian Leopard); these symbols will be used to promote wildlife education and conservation. “Already the possibility of a leopard reserve is being investigated, which will also be important for many of Yemen’s endemic birds and plants,” said Richard Porter, BirdLife International’s Middle East Advisor. For more information, visit the BirdLife International website.

New ‘Family Tree’ for Birds?

2 July 2008 – The article “A Phylogenomic Study of Birds Reveals Their Evolutionary History,” published in the June 2008 issue of Science (Vol. 320, no. 5884, pp. 1763-68), challenges our current classifications and understanding of relationships among some avian species and groups. In an undertaking referred to as the “Early Bird Assembling the Tree-of-Life Research Project,” an international team of scientists spent five years analyzing thousands of DNA base pairs from 19 genes in 169 species to gain insight into avian evolutionary biology, with some surprising results. For example, the study indicates that parrots are most closely related to (and shared a common ancestor with) songbirds; and that falcons are more closely related to songbirds than they are to accipiters such as eagles and hawks. Visit the Science website to read the abstract.

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Bird Studies Canada Staffing Updates

1 July 2008 – We are pleased to report a few staffing changes within our organization. Peter Davidson has formally assumed the role of BC Program Manager, with responsibility for all regional staff and programs in British Columbia. Jon McCracken, former Ontario Program Manager, has accepted the position of Director of National Programs. Jon provides strategic leadership of national programs such as the Canadian Lakes Loon Survey, the Christmas Bird Count, and Project FeederWatch, while retaining responsibility within BSC for the Canadian Migration Monitoring Network and Long Point Bird Observatory. Debbie Badzinski is now our Ontario Program Manager, overseeing the coordination and delivery of BSC’s regional programs in Ontario. Ryan Archer has taken on the role of Aquatic Survey Program Coordinator, with responsibility for the Great Lakes Marsh Monitoring Program and as a project leader for the national Canadian Lakes Loon Survey.

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BSC Receives Grants from Ontario Species at Risk Stewardship Fund

4 July 2008 – Bird Studies Canada recently received two grants totalling $126,600 from the Ontario Species at Risk Stewardship Fund. These grants are supporting work on five Ontario bird species at risk: Bald Eagle, Chimney Swift, Hooded Warbler, Prothonotary Warbler, and Short-eared Owl. The funds will be used to conduct research in Ontario’s Carolinian forest, the Great Lakes aquatic ecosystem, grasslands ecosystems, and urban areas, to gain a more thorough understanding of several at-risk bird species and their habitats, and to manage threats to both (for example, by controlling invasive plant species). Public education, outreach, and stewardship will be a vital part of these projects.
   This funding will make an important contribution to the conservation of birds at risk in Ontario. Bird Studies Canada gratefully acknowledges the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources for their support. For more information about BSC’s species at risk programs in Ontario, visit our website.

Philippe Gaudet, gagnant du nichoir offert par Junco Technologies Inc.

Philippe Gaudet (gauche) et Michel Chevalier. Photo: Mireille Dumont

2 juillet 2008 – La première saison de l’Inventaire des hiboux nocturnes du Québec (IHNQ) a eu lieu au printemps 2008. Pour l’occasion, la compagnie Junco Technologies Inc. s’est associée à Études d’Oiseaux Canada afin d’offrir un nichoir à Chouette rayée à l’un des participants de l’inventaire. Ainsi, chaque participant qui a soumis ses données avant le 1er juin a été inscrit au concours. Toutes nos félicitations à Philippe Gaudet qui a remporté le nichoir. Puisque la Chouette rayée n’est pas présente dans la région de Sept-Iles, où habite Monsieur Gaudet, Junco Technologies Inc. a accepté d’offrir en remplacement un nichoir à Petite Nyctale et un nichoir à Hirondelle bicolore. Monsieur Gaudet s’est dit très content d’avoir gagné ! Monsieur Gaudet n’en est pas à ses premiers inventaires d’oiseaux dans le cadre de programmes d’Études d’Oiseaux Canada. En 2006, il a inventorié deux marais pour le Programme de surveillance des marais du Québec et il participe depuis plusieurs années au Recensement des oiseaux de Noël. Études d’Oiseaux Canada remercie Junco Technologies Inc. pour sa générosité.

Philippe Gaudet Wins Nest Box from Junco Technologies Inc.

2 July 2008 – The first season of the Québec Nocturnal Owl Survey (QNOS) took place this spring. All participants who submitted their data by the end of May were automatically registered for a draw for a Barred Owl nest box from the company Junco Technologies Inc. Congratulations to winner Philippe Gaudet of Sept-Iles. Since the Barred Owl is not present in the area where Mr. Gaudet lives, Junco Technologies Inc. has substituted a Northern Saw-whet Owl nest box and a Tree Swallow nest box as prizes. Mr. Gaudet is very happy to be the winner! Other than his participation in the QNOS, Mr. Gaudet has surveyed two marshes in 2006 for the Québec Marsh Monitoring Program, and has participated for many years in the Christmas Bird Count. Bird Studies Canada thanks Junco Technologies Inc. for its generosity.

LPWWRF Research Published in Regional and International Journals

30 June 2008 – Long Point Waterfowl and Wetland Research Fund (LPWWRF) researchers Michael Schummer and Scott Petrie, in conjunction with Bob Bailey of the University of Western Ontario, recently published papers in the Journal of Great Lakes Research (2008, 34: 54-71) and The Auk (2008, 125: 425-433). Their research focused on habitat use and foraging behaviour of diving ducks during winter at Prince Edward County, Lake Ontario. The project was part of a larger study aimed at determining factors that could potentially limit the number of diving ducks wintering on the Great Lakes.
   Their findings showed that diving ducks were selecting locations along the Lake Ontario shoreline where winter storms and lake currents caused common duck foods to collect in shallow water areas. Interestingly, Buffleheads, Common Goldeneyes, and Long-tailed Ducks fed on nearly identical invertebrate prey types throughout winter. Although Lake Ontario is known for its population of zebra and quagga mussels, these three species ate abundant small worms and shrimp-like crustaceans that were high in energy and lived within mussel beds. At the time of the study, it did not appear that food availability was limiting the number of diving ducks wintering at Lake Ontario.

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