Hope Arrives

The Kenya Rift

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8 July 2011 
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Hope Arrives on Mackenzie River Breeding Grounds

Photo: Harold Stiver

8 July 2011 – Hope, a Whimbrel being tracked via satellite by scientists has arrived on her breeding grounds along the Mackenzie River in Canada. She left the Eastern Shore of Virginia on 22 May and made it to the breeding grounds on 14 June after traveling nearly 6,000 kilometers. This is the third year that the bird has been tracked to the same location just south of the Beaufort Sea. Hope’s travels through three migration cycles have taken her over 39,000 kilometers. In addition to Hope, three other Whimbrels were tracked this spring to breeding grounds west of Hudson Bay.
   Satellite tracking represents only one aspect of a broader, integrated investigation of Whimbrel migration. During the past four years, the Center for Conservation Biology in partnership with The Nature Conservancy, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources has used conventional transmitters to examine stopover duration, conducted aerial surveys to estimate seasonal numbers, collected feather samples to locate summer and winter areas through stable-isotope analysis, and initiated a Whimbrel watch program. Funding has been provided by The Nature Conservancy, the Center for Conservation Biology, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, the Toronto Ornithological Club, the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, and the Northern Neck Audubon Society. To view updated tracking maps select this link.

First Great Rift Valley Sites Added to World Heritage List

8 July 2011 – As a result of BirdLife International’s support of a nomination by the Kenyan Government, the Kenya Lake System in the Great Rift Valley has been added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List. The BirdLife International Africa Secretariat, and other stakeholders including Nature Kenya (BirdLife in Kenya), the National Museums of Kenya, and the Kenya Wildlife Service worked on a report about the importance of the Kenya Lake System which was used in the government submission. The new natural World Heritage Site comprises three relatively shallow, interlinked lakes in the Rift Valley Province of Kenya. Lake Bogoria, Lake Nakuru, and Lake Elementaita are all individually recognised by BirdLife as Important Bird Areas. The total area covered is 32,034 hectares.
   BirdLife is pressing for the entire African segment of the Great Rift Valley to be recognised as a World Heritage Site. It is based on the proposition that the migration of millions birds of more than 350 species through the Great Rift Valley is a phenomenon of outstanding universal value, as defined by UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee.“The Kenya Rift Lakes is a major inscription for UNESCO and a powerful stepping stone for the conservation of the Great Rift Valley,” said Dr. Julius Arinaitwe, Director of the BirdLife International African Partnership Secretariat. While not amounting to formal protection, Natural World Heritage Site status will give the three lakes an international profile, greatly enhancing the prospects that their beauty and biodiversity value will be respected and conserved.

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Assessing Marine Ecosystem Importance to Canadians

8 July 2011 – Are you a Canadian citizen aged 19 or over? Then we need your help to participate in the Scott Islands Marine National Wildlife Area (NWA) Survey. The purpose of the survey is to determine how Canadians value marine ecosystems, and more specifically seabird habitats on our Pacific coast. The survey is being conducted by a graduate student through a partnership with the School of Public Policy at Simon Fraser University and Environment Canada's Canadian Wildlife Service. If you have 10 to 15 minutes to fill out the survey, your responses will be much appreciated and will help to provide a socioeconomic context for the proposed NWA in the waters surrounding the Scott Islands, British Columbia. The responses will be used by the principal researcher for completion of her Master’s degree at Simon Fraser University. Environment Canada’s Canadian Wildlife Service may also use this summary and other information to inform the regulatory analysis for the proposed Scott Islands Marine NWA.
   The Scott Islands Important Bird Area supports the largest concentration of breeding seabirds in the eastern North Pacific south of Alaska, and the most important breeding colonies for seabirds in British Columbia. Over 1.4 million seabirds of 12 species breed on this group of islands, including as much as 55% of the global population of Cassin's Auklets, up to 9% of the world's Rhinoceros Auklets, and 2% of the world's Tufted Puffins. To watch a video about the importance of the Scott Islands to seabirds, select this link.

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Chimney Swifts Go High-tech on YouTube

Photo: Christian Artuso

8 July 2011 – Maritimes Swiftwatchers are a modern bunch! Program participants are using video-monitoring to accurately count hundreds of Chimney Swifts as the speedy birds plummet down chimneys, often in the gloom of dusk. The erratic flight and sheer numbers of these dark, sooty-coloured birds have confounded many a swiftwatcher, leading to much head-scratching and many a varied count. But, you ask, how hard can it be? Consider this: at a free-standing chimney in Sussex, New Brunswick, one volunteer described the sight of 302 swifts "tumbling down" the chimney in rapid succession. Another volunteer counted over 570 Chimney Swifts entering the large chimney at Temperance Street Elementary School in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. Standing below the old Post Office building in downtown Bathurst, New Brunswick, one group estimated that just over 190 birds had entered the roost. Upon video review the action was slowed down enough to count 242 birds, many of which had entered the in a rapid stream of traffic...very "swift" indeed!
   The ability of swiftwatchers to accurately record the number of Chimney Swifts using these roost chimneys is crucial to long-term monitoring success. Accurate counts are needed to help form a clear picture of abundance and distribution during migration, and many participants are turning to video recordings which can be played back in slow-motion, allowing one to count entries and exits at a far more leisurely pace. To take the Maritimes Swiftwatch "YouTube Challenge," select this link.

Lower Great Lakes Sea Duck Research

Long-tailed Duck Photo: Harold Stiver

8 July 2011 – The potential impact of coastal development, including offshore industrial wind turbines within the lower Great Lakes on wintering and staging sea ducks is currently unknown. To better understand development implications, Long Point Waterfowl has enlisted the assistance of graduate student, Philip Wilson. Philip will begin his M.Sc. in Biology at the University of Western Ontario in Fall 2011. He will track overwintering Long-tailed Ducks that have been surgically implanted with satellite transmitters to determine the habitat use and seasonal movements of birds from Lake Ontario. This project is part of a continental scale investigation by the Sea Duck Joint Venture to investigate the wintering, staging, and breeding patterns of sea ducks in Eastern North America. Currently, several Long-tailed Ducks captured during February 2011 from the Toronto waterfront and Hamilton Harbor areas of Lake Ontario are being tracked. Additional captures are planned for December to March 2012. Long Point Waterfowl would like to thank the Canadian Wildlife Service, the U.S.Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S.Geological Survey, the Sea Duck Joint Venture, and Ducks Unlimited, Inc. for their support of this project. To view an excerpt clip of field captures, select this link.

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