Greater white-fronted geese are mythical birds. A myth perpetrated by the oil industry so that some of us jump in our gas-driven cars and spend hours cruising through the country looking for them when they’re reported on the local bird alert. Again. This was intended to be a post about …
Last weekend, a small group of local birders were lucky enough to meet North America’s tallest birds in person. Whooping cranes stand about 1.5 m (5 ft) tall. Their wingspan is 2 m (6.5 ft) or more between the tips of their long black flight feathers. At close range, adult …
In the spring of 2011, an Acadia University research team led by Dr. Phil Taylor, Bird Studies Canada Chair in Ornithology, captured Great Black-backed and Herring Gulls during the breeding season to fit them with electronic tags and mark them with coloured wing and leg bands. The purpose is to …
Alberta’s disappearing sage grouse continue to make the headlines. Billboard campaigns are revving up, and more people are paying attention. A lot of people are at the wringing of hands stage, saying but what can we do? Based on past experience, it’s obvious we can’t rely on either the federal …
After a two day summit in Calgary, Canadian and American scientists called for immediate government action to save the sage grouse. Only 13 males remain in Alberta, and 35 in Saskatchewan. “Without immediate and effective action, we will surely lose this bird, a sentinel for the health of the Great …
