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W. Earl Godfrey - June 9, 2002
Dear Birders, We just heard from Bruce Di Labio that W. Earl Godfrey, Dean of Canadian Ornithologists, died yesterday at the age of 91 in Ottawa. Earl Godfrey became Curator of Ornithology at the National Museum of Canada in 1947, retiring in 1976. Earl was author of The Birds of Canada with over 200,000 copies sold. Earl was the first recipient of the Ontario Field Ornithologist's "Distinguished Ornithologist Award" in 1997, and the American Birding Association's "Ludlow Griscom Award" in 2000. He loved Ontbirds and was active until very recently. Earl will be sadly missed by his many friends and admirers. Jean Iron and Ron Pittaway Jean Iron President Ontario Field Ornithologists 9 Lichen Place Toronto ON M3A 1X3 416-445-9297 e-mail: jeaniron@sympatico.ca www.ofo.ca
Gord,
Toronto Zoo is holding it's 2nd annual International Migratory Bird Day on May 12th on the zoo site. This is a Continent-wide event.This year the theme is shade-grown coffee, a practice much more beneficial to bird-life than monoculture. Various Nature groups will be on hand promoting their causes (F.O.N.; F.L.A.P.; Pickering Naturalists etc.) There will be guided tours through the Rouge Valley and other secluded areas of the zoo. Last year highlights incuded a Ferruginous Hawk, Mississippi Kite and among the fallout of Warblers(a storm the night before) a singing male Golden-Winged. Cost is $5 for zoo members, $7 for non-members. (Plus the price of addmission)
Eric Cole
ecole@infinity.net
Dear Ontario and Manitoba Birders,
Your help is needed to save the endangered Eastern Loggerhead Shrike. Loggerhead Shrikes are among the early migrants to return to Canada and should be arriving as I write. Did you know that the majority of Loggerheads returning this spring could be colour banded? A colour banding study of the endangered Eastern Loggerhead Shrike is well under way and you can participate. By carefully checking the legs of shrikes with a spotting scope and reporting what you see, you could contribute essential information needed to understand both the decline and how to recover the species. Please read this new article below or at least visit the colour banding web site using the link in the article to see what colour bands on shrike legs look like.
Thanks, ChrisLoggerhead Shrike Colour Banding Study
The Eastern Loggerhead Shrike, Lanius ludovicianus migrans, was listed as endangered in Eastern Canada in 1991. In Ontario where the majority of the remaining population breeds, serious studies began in 1991. These studies and recovery efforts are ongoing. The Ontario population survey, which is done each year, found only 55 pairs breeding in 1992. From there the survey numbers dropped to a low of 18 pairs in 1997, and recovered to 40 pairs in 1999 and 38 pairs for 2000. In eastern Manitoba in 2000, only 11 pairs were found.
Volunteers have contributed much important information on breeding shrikes over the years. We now have a good picture of the shrike's breeding range as a result. There are still many very important questions that if answered, could help in understanding the species' problems and lead to successful recovery actions. For example, is Ontario the source of its own shrikes or a sink fed by immigration from other parts of the continent? What are the levels of survivorship and recruitment of young birds, and of longevity and nest site faithfulness of adults? What are the rates of immigration and emigration between the core breeding areas (Napanee, Smiths Falls, Carden, Grey-Bruce, eastern Manitoba)? Where do Eastern Loggerhead Shrikes go during the winter and what routes do they take to get there and back?
To answer questions like these, the Eastern Loggerhead Shrike Recovery Team, Bird Studies Canada and Manitoba Conservation began a colour banding study in 1999 (Manitoba Conservation did some banding before this date). In the first two seasons, almost 300 nestlings and 60 adults were banded in Ontario and eastern Manitoba. Each bird was given one to three bands of different colours that identify it as an individual. From the 1999 Ontario population, seven shrikes banded as nestlings and nine banded as adults were recorded on the breeding grounds in 2000. None of these 16 moved between core breeding areas. Only two individuals were on their 1999 site, although some did not move very far. Some females moved as far as eight to 25 km away. None was found to be with its mate from 1999.
The more information we can gather on shrike movements, the better we will understand the situation. It is difficult for surveyors to find and keep track of all shrikes on their breeding grounds, let alone during dispersal and migration. Once again volunteers are needed to help with shrike research. Here is how you can help:
Anytime you spot a Loggerhead Shrike anywhere in North America, get your spotting scope out and have a close and careful look at its legs. If you see bands, carefully note the vertical order of the colour combinations for each leg. You may see, for example, red above light blue on the right leg and silver on the left. Record the date, where you saw the shrike and what it was doing. Waiting for the bird to show you the entire length of both legs may take some patience. Please report all sightings of banded shrikes anywhere. Also, report all unbanded shrikes in Canada and the northern USA. Even dead shrikes are of interest. Report toll-free to Bird Studies Canada at 1-888-448-BIRD.
To help you determine the colours you see, here is a list of the colours in use: Mauve, light (sky) blue, dark blue, light green, dark green, yellow, white, red, dark pink, orange and silver (standard band). Be careful to distinguish between the greens, the blues and between red and dark pink. To see what a colour banded shrike looks like, visit the following web site:
http://members.kingston.net/cgrooms .
For more information on recovery efforts for the Eastern Loggerhead Shrike, visit the Bird Studies Canada web site at
http://www.bsc-eoc.org/losh.html .
Thank you for helping in the Loggerhead Shrike recovery process.
Chris Grooms, Eastern Loggerhead Shrike Recovery Field Coordinator------------------------------------
Chris Grooms RR# 1 Elginburg, Ontario K0H 1M0 Phone 613-542-0894 Fax 613-542-1561 Cell 613-328-0810 e-mail cgrooms@kingston.net Web site http://members.kingston.net/cgrooms
The Churchill Northern Studies Centre, up in Churchill, MB. is offering a birdwatching course in June of 2001.
To give you a quick background, the CNSC is a non-profit research and education facility, dedicated to increasing awareness about the arctic. We provide support to researchers working in the Churchill region, as well as offer both University credit and non-credit Learning Vacations to individuals.
Explore the excellent birding opportunities that Churchill has to offer. The region is well-know to bird enthusiasts as a birding "hotspot" and the area supports many nesting species. Guided field trips will allow you to see a wide variety of bird species and to search for rareties such as the Ross' gull, Bohemian waxwing and Harris' sparrow. Unique birds common to the Churchill area include arctic loons, jaegers, willow ptarmigans and Smith's longspurs. A trip to the town of Churchill will allow you to explore historic sites and visit the Eskimo Museum.
The course includes meals and accommodations at the Churchill Northern Studies Centre, as well as all instruction.
For more information and a contact person, please visit the CNSC website at www.cancom.net/~cnsc/
Dates: June 5-12, 2001
July 12-19, 2001Cost: $600 Cdn.
Durham Region Field Naturalist presentsKenn Kaufman
Sunday, April 8, 2001
2:00 P. M.
Holiday Inn
1011 Bloor St. E.
OshawaKenn Kaufman is an accomplished author, artist, and speaker. His latest book is the "Focus Guide to North American Birds", published by Hughton Mifflin. His other books include "Peterson Field Guide to Advanced Birding", "Lives of North American Birds", and "Kingbird Highway". He has been a contributing editor to "American Birds", "Birders Watcher's Digest", "Birder's World", and "Audubon" magazine.
Kenn Kaufman is a legend among birders. At sixteen he hitchhiked back and forth across North America, traveling eighty thousands miles in a year, simply to see as many birds as he could.
Kenn Kaufman resides in Tucson, Arizona.
Tickets: 5.00 per person
Contact: Rayfield Pye
(905) 436-7998
or e-mail
raypye@oix.comRayfield Pye raypye@oix.com Conservation Committee Chair Durham Region Field Naturalist
Please read below, hope you can all help with the Atlas. (Rob Swainson - please pass this on to Gar Evans!)
Nick Escott
133 South Hill Street, Thunder Bay, Ontario P7B 3T9, Canada
escott@norlink.netNaturalists from across the province are getting ready to take part in the second Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas! The atlas is scheduled to run from 2001- 2005 and follows on the highly successful first atlas that was carried out from 1981-1985. The atlas is a large-scale effort to document the breeding birds of Ontario, and has been widely used as a conservation tool for the province. It relies on keen volunteer birders to scour the province, collecting data on which birds are nesting where. It's fun and challenging- for the first atlas volunteers found 57 species that were reported only in northern Ontario, including the first confirmed breeding records in the province for Harris' Sparrow, Snow Bunting and Bohemian Waxwing. For more information on the Atlas, check our web site:
www.birdsontario.orgIf you think you might like to participate, be sure to attend one of our northern workshops! Atlas staff and your local atlas regional coordinator(s) are offering an evening of learning how to atlas for breeding birds. You will learn how to collect breeding evidence, abundance data (*new to the second atlas*) and information about significant species. Other activities include map reading, determining UTM coordinates, use of a GPS unit, filling out data cards, meeting fellow atlassers, and learning about resources such as bird tapes.
Please see the schedule below for the workshop nearest to you. Don't forget to mark it on your calendar!
We hope to see you there!
Cochrane Workshop Wednesday February 21, 2001 7-9 pm Swan Castle Inn (Best Western) Local contact: Leeanne Beaudin Tel: 705-272-7156 Thunder Bay Workshop Monday February 26, 2001, 7-9pm Lunan Hall, St. Pauls United Church 393 Waverly Street, Thunder Bay Local contact: Nick Escott Tel: 807-345-7122 Kenora Workshop Tuesday February 27, 2001, 7-9 pm Location to be announced Local contact: Leo Heyens Tel: 807-468-2546
Was it worth the effort? YOU BET!
Don Davis
Toronto, ON
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January 17, 2001Brighton council calls for implementation of Presqu'ile Park Management Plan by STEVEN WARBURTON The Independent Brighton Town Council has endorsed a letter that "urges Ontario Parks to immediately commence implementation of the new [Presqu'ile] Park Plan." The letter, addressed to provincial environment minister Dan Newman, was debated and accepted during Council's regular meeting on January 16, after councillors held a closed-door "working session" on January 13. The letter asks for changes in the current plan's zoning of the beaches, and seeks an immediate program of cormorant reduction. The decision, which was passed at Council's regular meeting on Tuesday evening, was the culmination of several public meetings and working sessions, in which dozens of private citizens and special interest groups made their views on the plan known. Many of those groups attended Tuesday's meeting and, as Mayor Lou Rinaldi observed, the positions ranged to the extremes. "Some of them wanted to burn the plan; some wanted to accept it as is," said Rinaldi, who voted for the recommendation to the government. Only Councillor Mike Vandertoon voted against the letter. The letter says that "Council is very concerned that the Plan as written now, will not continue to encourage day users to the beach area." The letter notes that beach visitors contributed a great deal to the economic well being of the community, and says that the beach area could be "more appropriately zoned to encourage its recreational use." The letter suggests that Owen Point, zoned as a natural resource area, be rezoned to allow dredging to help ensure a cleaner beach for the public. Council also contends that the burgeoning cormorant and gull populations on High Bluff and Gull Islands are also "possibly creating problems on adjacent shorelines" as well as affecting park vegetation and both the commercial and sport fishing industry. The present plan states that a five year study on cormorants is in effect; Council, in turn, is urging the government to "commence a plan of cormorant reduction this year." "Failure to take steps this year will only magnify the situation next year and thereafter because the population could be doubling in two to three years," the letter says. Because of the closing of the Calf's Pasture Boat Launch within the park, Council is also asking that a small section of park property near Ontario Street be designated as municipal land. Council would then use this land for additional parking at the Ontario Street Boat Launch. "This will facilitate the increased demand on this boat launch," council says. Council also encouraged an "immediate establishment of a Presqu'ile Forum," as outlined in the Park Plan.
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This page was created: Thursday, July 18, 1996
Last Updated: June 10, 2002 5:37:12 AM