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28 September 2007 
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New Hope for Recurve-billed Bushbird

Photo: Chris Sharpe/BirdLife International

26 September 2007 – The Recurve-billed Bushbird Clytoctantes alixii, nicknamed ‘the smiling bird’ because of its distinctive up-turned bill, has new reasons to smile. After more than 40 years passed without any sightings, many feared this South American species was extinct. Fortunately, surveys over the last three years have revealed individuals in parts of Venezuela and Colombia. The bushbird was rediscovered and documented in Venezuela in 2004, and located in Colombia in 2005 and 2007. These recent sightings have led to renewed efforts to understand the bird’s distribution, and to conserve crucial habitat threatened by deforestation and construction. Visit the BirdLife International website for more information.

Albatross Deaths Prompt Calls for Tougher Longline Fishery Regulations

20 September 2007 – BirdLife International has reported that last week, a single longline vessel fishing off New Zealand caused the deaths of 36 albatrosses. Twelve were the Critically Endangered Chatham Albatross, and another 22 were the Vulnerable species Salvin’s Albatross. By following preventive measures, fishing vessels can reduce seabird bycatch deaths by up to 90%, but currently these mitigation measures are largely voluntary and are for the most part not enforced by independent observers. The Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand and other conservation organizations are calling on the New Zealand government to enact mandatory requirements to reduce seabird mortality.
   According to BirdLife International, 100,000 albatrosses drown every year when they swallow baited longline fishing hooks. Of the world’s 22 albatross species, 19 are threatened with extinction, largely because of longline fishing. Visit the Save the Albatross website to find out how you can help.

 

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        NATIONAL

 

BSC Welcomes Visiting Scientist Dr. Phil Taylor

28 September 2007 – Dr. Phil Taylor, Professor of Biology at Acadia University and Chair of Bird Studies Canada’s National Science Advisory Council, is working at BSC’s Port Rowan headquarters for his 2007-08 sabbatical year.
   Dr. Taylor, who runs Nova Scotia’s Atlantic Bird Observatory (ABO) with Trina Fitzgerald, has a special interest in bird migration. Over the last three years, he has been studying bird migration using radar at the ABO. Now he has brought radar equipment to Port Rowan, to share his expertise with BSC, and to collaborate with the Long Point Bird Observatory. Taken together, data from LPBO and information obtained using radar technology will help to answer fundamental questions about the ecology of migration in the Long Point area.
   According to Dr. Taylor, “This is a fantastic opportunity for me to interact with BSC staff who are working on similar issues in a conservation context.” He also noted that he is excited to be visiting the area, where his scientific interest in birds began when he volunteered at LPBO as a teen.
   Stay tuned to Latest News for updates on Dr. Taylor’s work with BSC in the months to come.

Five New Members Join BSC Board

24 September 2007 – At Bird Studies Canada’s Annual Members Meeting on September 23, five new members were elected to the Board of Directors. The new directors are: Karen Brown (ON), former Assistant Deputy Minister, Environmental Conservation Service, Environment Canada; Sandy Burnett (NB), an author and communications specialist; Rita Kalmbach (ON), the former Mayor of Norfolk County; Kate MacQuarrie (PE), Director of the Forests, Fish, and Wildlife Division of the PEI Department of Environment, Energy, and Forestry; and Mark Whitmore (MB), Dean of Science and Professor of Physics at the University of Manitoba.
   We are looking forward to working with these new Board members, and with our returning members Art Martell (BC – Chair); Suzanne Carrière (NT); George Clulow (BC); Thor Eaton (ON); Diana Hamilton (NB); Hugh McArthur (ON); Betsy McFarlane (QC); Louis Visentin (MB); and Warren Winkler (ON).

2007 Birdathon Prize Winners Announced

24 September 2007 – Congratulations to the 2007 Baillie Birdathon prize winners, announced at last weekend’s Annual Members Meeting. Grand prize winner Carlo Giovanella of Surrey, BC will be taking a 15-day tour of either Costa Rica, Central Mexico, or the high Arctic, courtesy of Eagle-Eye Tours.  James, Ken, and Mike Burrell of Heidleberg, ON were the lucky winners of an Eagle Optics Vortex Skyline 80mm Angled Spotting Scope and Radian GT Pro Tripod. Several prizes were awarded to birders from Tommy Thompson Park Bird Research Station, including Dan Derbyshire (who won a pair of Eagle Optics Ranger SRT 8 x 42 Binoculars), Andrew MacDonald (who took home a Pentax OptioA10 8.0 Megapixel Digital Camera), and Anne McConnell (who received a Limited Edition Framed Print of Morning Light courtesy of artist Chris Bacon).  David Bell of Sault Ste. Marie, ON won the Young Birdathoner prize, a Pentax OptioM10 6.0 Megapixel Digital Camera.
   To date the 2007 Birdathon has brought in $214,000 – an all-time high! Canadian Migration Monitoring Network stations have raised over $73,000, and other naturalists’ clubs have raised more than $86,000. We are extremely grateful to all of the participants, sponsors, and prize donors who make the Baillie Birdathon such a success. Visit the BSC website for a full list of this year’s Birdathon results and prize winners.

Public Invited to Help Test New eBird Tool

17 September 2007 – eBird Canada is now beta-testing the eBird Data Import Tool. Many eBird users have been asking how they can bulk load existing sightings that are kept on home computers in various file types. We have built this tool to help standardize this vast resource of untapped data, and to bring them into a data archive at eBird where they can be used by scientists. The Import Tool uses two file formats that conform well to the types of data people typically store in Excel files or other similarly structured datasets. Users of AviSys and other commercial birding software should note that the eBird team is working closely with these application developers and in the coming weeks will make a special announcement regarding the upload of these data formats.
   Right now we are looking for people outside Bird Studies Canada and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to help us test this process. We want to get feedback from the birding public and address any issues before we make this tool widely available. If you’d like to upload your bird sighting files into eBird, please contact eBird Canada coordinator Dick Cannings at dickcannings@shaw.ca for more information. You can check out eBird Canada at www.ebird.ca.

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Presentations on Birds and Oil in Northern BC and Haida Gwaii

28 September 2007 – Pete Davidson, Bird Studies Canada’s BC Projects Coordinator, will be conducting a series of workshops on beached bird and coastal waterbird surveys as part of a presentation series hosted by WWF-Canada on oil in the marine environment. Topics covered will include: the effects of chronic oil on seabirds, oil spill modelling as a tool to predict the impacts of oil spills, and how to conduct Coastal Waterbird Surveys and Beached Bird Surveys to monitor coastal bird populations and the impact of stressors like oil in the marine environment. Evening presentations by guest speakers Patrick O’Hara (Environment Canada), Sarah Patton (Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society), and Oonagh O’Connor (Living Oceans Society) will precede workshops run by Pete Davidson on the following day. The forum will be held in Kitimat on September 27-28, in Prince Rupert on September 29-30, and on Haida Gwaii from October 1-4. The workshops are funded in part by the TD Friends of the Environment Foundation, Prince Rupert-Terrace Chapter.

TD Friends of the Environment Foundation Supports Charlottetown Beached Bird Survey

27 September 2007 – Bird Studies Canada (Atlantic Region) has received $1500 from the TD Friends of the Environment Foundation for Beached Bird Surveys in Charlottetown Harbour. This survey, which began in October 2006, involves volunteers searching beaches once a month for dead seabirds. The survey aims to monitor the effects of oil pollution, fisheries bycatch, and other events that cause seabirds to die and wash ashore. It will also provide a baseline level of occurrence of beached birds in Charlottetown Harbour, against which the results of an oil spill on seabird mortality can be compared. So far, 16 surveys have been conducted on six beaches, and no beached birds have been found. Surveys will continue through the fall and winter until ice conditions prevent volunteer access. We are still in need of volunteers for a few beaches in the Charlottetown Harbour area, including Fort Amherst National Historic Site and Rocky Point. If you would like more information, or to volunteer, please visit our website, or contact Kate Bredin at kbredin@bsc-eoc.org, or by phone at 506-536-4049.

Great Lakes MMP Seeks Volunteer Regional Coordinators

26 September 2007 – The Great Lakes Marsh Monitoring Program (MMP) is seeking local champions to help protect some of the most threatened marsh habitats across the Great Lakes basin. With funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and Environment Canada, BSC is looking for dedicated individuals to act as volunteer MMP regional coordinators for local MMP volunteer participants among several Great Lakes Area of Concern (AOC) regions. AOCs are environmentally-degraded areas undergoing intensive restoration efforts, and your help is needed to track wetland ecological recovery within your local AOC region. Select this link for a list of targeted AOC regions. MMP regional coordinators will work to promote the MMP in their communities, recruit and train local MMP volunteers, and provide them with one-on-one survey support when needed. MMP regional coordinators work closely with BSC staff to carry out their tasks. For more information about this important and rewarding opportunity, please see the MMP coordinator registration brochure and position description, or contact Ryan Archer, MMP Assistant Coordinator at 1-888-448-2473 ext. 235, rarcher@bsc-eoc.org. The application deadline for these positions is October 31, 2007.

LPWWRF Publishes Second Annual Newsletter

26 September 2007 – The Long Point Waterfowl & Wetlands Research Fund (LPWWRF) has just released its second annual newsletter. Within this issue you will find articles about LPWWRF’s ongoing research projects, LPWWRF student research, and LPWWRF’s acquisition of the former Junior Ranger Camp near Turkey Point, Ontario. A PDF version of this newsletter is available here.

Inaugural Young Wildlife Biologist Workshop a Huge Success

Photo: LPWWRF

26 September 2007 – LPWWRF is excited to report the overwhelming success of our first Young Wildlife Biologist Workshop (YWBW), held at LPWWRF’s Research and Education Centre from August 20-24, 2007. Fourteen participants between the ages of 13-16 from throughout southwestern Ontario were treated to demonstrations by some of Ontario’s best wildlife professionals, including a free-flying raptor demonstration, duck and songbird banding, wood duck box building and placement, and a wildlife crime version of CSI. Due to the overwhelming success of the YWBW, we hope to expand the program next year by offering two one-week workshops, for a total of 20 youth participants. Keep checking our website for information and application forms for next year’s YWBW.

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