On September 10, Bird Studies Canada will celebrate the start of the 19th season of our British Columbia Coastal Waterbird Survey. This long-term Citizen Science monitoring program involves counting ducks, loons, grebes, gulls, and other waterbirds on the second Sunday of each month throughout the winter.
Following an absence of breeding pairs in Ontario for more than 30 years, Piping Plovers have been making a gradual return at selected nesting locations on Canadian Great Lakes shores since 2007. Federal and provincial governments and local agencies cooperate to protect these Endangered shorebirds and their habitat.
Completing my fifth annual pilgrimage to Baccalieu Island, NL, I spent one gloriously sunny week this July assisting Dr. April Hedd, Wildlife Biologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, in studying Leach’s Storm-Petrels.
On July 17, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act (NMBCA) fund will, once again, support Bird Studies Canada’s efforts to conserve the Endangered Cerulean Warbler in Ontario.
The Common Nighthawk looks graceful in flight, and a bit strange up close due to its large eyes and wide mouth. But no matter how you look at it, this species is becoming a less-common sight. Breeding Bird Survey data suggest it has declined by 76% since 1973 in Canada, where it is now listed as a Threatened species.
To some, spending countless hours from May through August protecting an endangered, camouflaged bird, its four eggs, and its flightless chicks on the open sand – exposed to the elements and busy activities of beachgoers – would sound daunting, and perhaps a bit nuts. I’ve come to learn that cautious optimism and resilience are handy qualities for biologists and Citizen Scientists engaged in Piping Plover conservation.
This year, BioBlitz Canada 150 events are being held across the country. They have been organized by the Canadian Wildlife Federation with BioBlitz Canada and many other conservation partners, and were made possible by the Government of Canada as a Canada 150 Signature Project.
A bold research team, led by the University of Guelph and Bird Studies Canada, spread out across the boreal forest in June in an effort to recapture some very specific Blackpoll Warblers.
The Summer 2017 edition of BirdWatch Canada (No. 80) celebrates an exciting moment in the history of Long Point Bird Observatory: the banding of our millionth bird. Discover what it took to reach this significant milestone in our cover story, “The Road to One Million,” by Stu Mackenzie and Jon McCracken.
The Motus Wildlife Tracking System is being used by numerous researchers and organizations to gain new knowledge about the movements of small songbirds, bats, and insects during breeding and migration, and on overwintering grounds.
