July 2003 News Archive

Index

Return to
BSC News

BSC Supports Mute Swan Control

30 July 2003 - A proposal by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to reduce Mute Swan numbers has the backing of Bird Studies Canada and its Long Point Waterfowl and Research Fund. Mute Swans’ size, extremely aggressive disposition, and voracious appetite make this exotic species a strong competitor that has substantial regional impacts on native waterfowl and their habitats. The U.S. proposal outlines Integrated Population Management for Mute Swans in which the Atlantic Flyway (U.S. portion) Mute Swan population would be reduced from an estimated 14,300 birds to 4675 in 5-10 years. For more information on Mute Swan research in the lower Great Lakes click here.

Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas Maps Updated

28 July 2003 - Breeding evidence and summary statistics maps for the Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas have been updated to include the most recent additions to the database. The new maps are available by clicking here.

BirdMap Canada Launched

Port Rowan, ON, 29 July 2003 - BirdMap Canada has been launched at www.bsc-eoc.org/birdmap_e.htm. This unique web site makes available a variety of bird monitoring databases to researchers, conservation planners, and interested members of the public through one central location. With only a few mouse clicks, users can tap into live databases and create custom maps over the web, which can then be printed out or saved to their computer. For media release click here.

Round-the-World Expedition Targets Pirates to Halt Albatross Deaths

26 July 2003 - In an effort to draw attention to the plight of albatrosses, John Ridgeway sets sail today to take on the pirate fishing fleets responsible for the deaths of thousands of endangered seabirds every year. Ridgeway’s year long expedition will report and film illegal fishing operations that are pushing 17 of the world's 21 albatross species to the brink of extinction. Longline fishing methods are believed to be responsible for the deaths of more than 300,000 birds each year, including 100,000 albatrosses, lured onto baited hooks. For full details click here.

World’s Largest Woodpecker Feared Extinct

Cambridge England, 23 July 2003 (ENS) - The world's largest woodpecker, once found in Mexico and the United States, may now be extinct, according to researchers with BirdLife International. No trace of the Black and White Imperial Woodpecker was found during a scientific expedition to the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains of northwestern Mexico, the last area where the bird was seen.

Closely related to the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, also presumed extinct, this impressive bird was 20% bigger. Research suggests that the Black and White Imperial Woodpecker's decline has occurred largely through the loss of its habitat, mainly the deforestation and clearance of old growth pine and oak woods.

The Black and White Imperial Woodpecker will now be listed in the 2004 IUCN Red List of endangered species under the new classification of Critically Endangered Possibly Extinct. For full release click here.

Million Dollar Funding Secures Future of Kenyan Forest

Cambridge, UK, and Nairobi, Kenya, 23 July 2003 - BirdLife International's conservation project at Arabuko-Sokoke Forest in Kenya, a site rated among the world's top 25 biodiversity sites, has netted a $1 million award from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), sparing it from the encroaching deforestation affecting neighbouring areas.

The award guarantees that there will be no reduction in the existing 372 square kilometre forest, which has also been ranked as the second most important forest for threatened bird conservation on mainland Africa, and lies within an Endemic Bird Area. Six globally-threatened bird species are found in Arabuko-Sokoke, of which four have their biggest populations here, including the Endangered species Sokoke Scops-owl and Clarke's Weaver found only at this site. Click here for details.

Alberta Sport Recreation Parks and Wildlife Foundation Supports Owl Survey

22 July 2003 - Bird Studies Canada is pleased to announce that the Alberta Sport Recreation Parks and Wildlife Foundation has granted $4000 towards the Alberta Nocturnal Owl Survey Program. For more details on this volunteer program click here.

One Last Chance for Saemangeum Shorebirds

South Korea, 20 July 2003 - Construction of a 33 km seawall, to enclose 40,100 ha of tidal flats and shallows, has been temporarily halted, providing an opportunity to shift opinion on habitat destruction of a massive scale. The Saemangeum area comprises two free-flowing estuaries (the Mangyeung and the Dongjin), extensive salt-marsh, tidal-flats (up to 25 km wide) and extensive shallows. This area is the single most important site for wading birds in South Korea, and possibly the Yellow Sea. Daily peak counts reach 155,000 waders, and perhaps 500,000 birds use the area throughout the year. 27 species of bird use the area in internationally important numbers, including Spoon-billed Sandpiper, Spotted Greenshank and Great Knot. Although the outer dyke is 80% complete, a court-ruling has halted the entire project, and demanded a re-evaluation of the project’s aims. Click here for more details.

BSC to host Marsh Monitoring Program Workshop

9 July 2003 - On Saturday 16 August, Bird Studies Canada is hosting a workshop for Marsh Monitoring Program (MMP) participants. A cross-section of MMP volunteers from Ontario and the Great Lakes states have been invited to attend this event. The workshop will include tours of area marshes and a review/evaluation of MMP survey protocol. Click here to learn more about MMP.

Research on Selenium Burdens in Lesser and Greater Scaup Focus at Summer Symposium

8 July 2003 - Dr. Scott Petrie, Research Director of BSC’s Long Point Waterfowl and Wetlands Research Fund (LPWWRF), will be giving a presentation at the Delta Waterfowl and Wetlands Research Station's annual Summer Symposium this week. Scott will be discussing his research on selenium burdens in Lesser and Greater Scaup on the lower Great Lakes. Click here for more information about LPWWRF.

Hot Off the Press, Owl Files

5 July 2003 - The new Owl Files newsletter for the Alberta Nocturnal Owl Survey is out. Click here to read all the latest news.

BSC Display at Alberta Bluebird Festival

4 July 2003 - Lisa Priestley, Bird Study Canada’s Prairie Canada Program Manager, will be attending the annual Bluebird Festival at the Ellis Bird Farm, near Lacombe Alberta on 12 July, and will be presenting a display board on Bird Studies Canada programs. Click here for more information.

Waterbird Conference Features BSC Experts

4 July 2003 - The upcoming international conference, Limnology and Waterbirds 2003, will feature four key scientists from Bird Studies Canada (BSC) and BSC’s Long Point Waterfowl and Wetlands Research Fund (LPWWRF). Dr. Scott Petrie, Research Director for LPWWRF, will be presenting on selenium burdens in Lesser and Greater Scaup on the lower Great Lakes. Shawn Meyer, M.Sc. Candidate, will be reporting on the influence of Phragmites australis on the abundance and species richness of birds, herptiles, and small mammals at Long Point. Shawn's paper will be published in the proceedings. BSC and LPWWRF Waterbird Research scientist, Dr. Shannon Badzinski, will present a paper concerning the influence that Tundra Swans have on aquatic vegetation during fall migration at Long Point, ON. Steve Timmermans’, BSC`s Aquatic Surveys Scientist, paper addresses how Common Loon productivity has been related to lake pH and other factors in Nova Scotia’s inland freshwater lakes. Timmermans' and Badzinski's research papers will both be submitted for publication in the journal Hydrobiologia. Click here for more information on the conference, which takes place 4 - 9 August in Sackville, NB.

BSC Presents at International Association of Great Lakes Research Conference

4 July 2003 - Steve Timmermans, Bird Studies Canada’s (BSC) Aquatic Surveys Scientist, presented two oral presentations and one poster presentation on Great Lakes research at the International Association of Great Lakes Research Conference held from 22 - 25 June 2003, at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. Timmermans attended many other interesting talks focusing on various aspects of Great Lakes research. Some interesting session topics included: Checking the Pulse of Lake Erie; Biodiversity Conservation in the Great Lakes Basin; Water Levels, Past, Present, and Future Trends; Global Climate and Environmental Changes; Lakes Habitat Assessment of Coastal Wetlands; and, Using Indicators to Assess Great Lakes Ecosystem Health. Click here to learn more about the Marsh Monitoring Program.

Karl Levesque Joins BSC to Launch Quebéc’s Marsh Monitoring Program

July 2003 - Biologist, Karl Levesque, has joined Bird Studies Canada to work on the launch of the Marsh Monitoring Program in Quebec. Click here to read his biography.

 

 

Return to Top of Page
Return to Previous Page

The Organization  International Programs  National Programs  Regional Programs  
Long Point Bird Observatory Programs  Join BSC  Web Site Map